The Garden
by rjacques
Summary: A few years have passed since the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry's friends have resumed normal lives, but he is drifting, and his relationship with Ginny has stagnated. Hermione may have found a way to restore her parents' memories. She needs some help, so Harry looks up old friends, and becomes reacquainted with Lavender, Parvati, and others. Romance, tears, and a dash of Jane Austen.
1. The Emotional Type

_Introduction: Through the years, while enjoying the Harry Potter books and movies, I often found myself imagining a backstory for Lavender Brown. Her personality and behavior were intriguing, and they seemed to warrant further exploration. This is the story that emerged from my musings. Of course, only J.K. Rowling knows Lavender's true story._

 _The events in this story take place a few years after the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry and his friends are in their early 20s, and most of them have found callings, but Harry has been drifting along, directionless and somewhat depressed. The main characters are Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati. Others also appear, including Ron, Luna, Neville, Padma,_ _ _Professor McGonagall,_ and Bruno, Parvati's boyfriend from Beauxbatons. Not strictly canonical, of course. With compliments to Ms. Rowling, who created this rich and fascinating world, and has given us so much to work with.  
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Harry entered the pub with some trepidation. Why would Ginny and Hermione ask him to meet here "to talk"? He was a bit early, and he didn't see them in the room, so he picked up a pint at the bar and found his way to a booth to wait. He had been idling for a few years; he hadn't found anything that felt like a direction or a calling, so he had just drifted along. Not that the traumas of his life hadn't needed some attending to, and not that he really needed an income. But he knew that he was spinning his wheels, and he didn't like that.

He had maintained an easy-going relationship with Ginny for a long time, and she didn't seem to mind. At least, she hadn't complained. Also, Ginny was pretty busy with her work, building homes and small shops. Nothing grand, just the kinds of places where people live and work every day, where they spend time with family and friends. Much of the wizarding world had been smashed to bits just a few years back, in terms of lives, dreams, and families. In the process, many houses and shops had also been wrecked, so there was plenty of rebuilding to do, in every sense of the word.

And that was what had initially attracted Ginny to this occupation. She had always enjoyed drawing pictures and building models of houses. After the war, when her family began to rebuild the Burrow, she had pointed out a number of areas where improvements could be made, in the arrangement of rooms and in the placement of stairways, windows, closets, and the like. Her parents had welcomed her ideas, and she had ended up directing the overall project, with results that pleased the whole family. After that, she helped Luna and her father with a similar project, then some other neighbors, and that had led her in stages to her current occupation. She drew, she planned, she built, and she continued to improve her skills, as she learned what she could from others.

Ginny found it personally rewarding to talk with a family about the possibilities, and later to see them settling into their new home. And like so many other endeavors, it was something a person could do adequately well, or truly well, and she had risen to the challenge. Having grown up in a loving household, though in a physical structure that was a higgledy-piggledy jumble, she knew that straight, clean lines were not for everybody. She tried to design homes and shops that fit the tastes and needs of the people who would occupy them, and she found great satisfaction in helping them to find the sorts of structures that would feel like home to them, which seemed especially important now, after so many aspects of their lives had been damaged.

Harry admired Ginny's work, and her dedication to it. He sometimes helped with her projects, when she asked, but mostly he was content to just get along. Lately, though, he hadn't been very content. He had begun to feel that he'd become a burden on his friends. Always needing to pull things together, to turn a corner, but never quite getting around to it.

Now he looked up from his drink as Ginny and Hermione entered the pub. They, and so many others of his generation, had been through hell, and although the survivors of those horrors were traumatized, in varying degrees, at least they had each other. Harry loved both of them, and the three exchanged hugs before he headed to the bar to pick up drinks for them. Returning with a semi-dry white wine and a lager and lime, their usual drinks, he pretended that he wasn't quite sure which drink was intended for whom. This elicited the usual laughter, which Harry instantly realized was forced.

"Am I really this lame?" he thought. "What kind of a rut am I in?" And he said, "Sorry, that joke has gotten really old. I won't do it again." He sat next to Ginny, with Hermione opposite.

Hermione took a sip of her wine, and said "Not bad, but maybe I'll go for something a bit drier after this." She smiled at Harry, and began with a slightly melodramatic, "You may be wondering why I asked you here today ...," which relieved some of the tension that Harry had been feeling. Like Ginny, Hermione was focused, busy, and accomplishing things. In her case it was nothing unexpected: she had continued to develop her magical skills, with the advice and encouragement of other masters, including the professors at Hogwarts. Always studying, always learning, always with goals in mind. And of course, always brilliant. Now she shifted into her normal tone, and continued: "Harry, I'm working on something that I've mentioned to you before, trying to find a way to bring back my parents' memories. I think I've finally figured out a way to do it, and I'm asking you and Ginny to help."

"Hermione, you know I'll be glad to help in any way that I can. I certainly have the time. And look, it may sound strange for me to say this, but I'm feeling a bit reflective today; and I'm getting sick of my inaction." With a wry smile he continued, "I've begun to think that there should be a limit to acceptable degrees of self-pity, even for me. I guess what I'm really saying, to both of you, is this:" and he glanced at Ginny, who was quietly absorbing his little speech, "I'm sorry. Really sorry. I've let myself go. I know you've tolerated a lot from me, and I know that you've allowed me to wallow in this state, even after you've all moved on. I'm going to try to be better."

"Thanks," said Ginny, "it's good to hear that. Look, we all had it bad, and we know that you were living with that sick bastard inside your head for almost all of your life, and that you were his particular target, so really, you're allowed to heal at your own rate ... within reason!" All three smiled.

Harry nodded, and went on, "OK, that's out, and now I want to hear what Hermione has in mind."

"Well," said Hermione, "my plan is about healing, and that's what you're talking about. So having you back among the sane and the active means a lot."

To protect her parents, Hermione had obliviated their memories of herself and everything they knew about the Wizarding world. Having lost all knowledge of their daughter, and with surreptitious guidance from Hermione, they had moved to Australia, where they had continued to work as dentists. In the years since that time, Hermione had frequently expressed her hopes of restoring their memories, and reuniting with them, but there was no known charm, spell, or potion that could accomplish this.

During those years, Hermione had traveled frequently to Melbourne, where her parents had settled, and she had purchased a home near theirs, spent time in the neighborhood, arranged to run into them from time to time, and thereby struck up a friendship with them. To her parents she was simply a nice young woman who lived in their neighborhood, someone they ran into occasionally when they were shopping or out on a walk. And she seemed to travel a lot. They had invited her over for supper a few times, and they had sometimes wondered why such a pleasant, outgoing, intelligent young lady seemed to be a loner.

They had also wondered why she occasionally became distraught over little things that came up in conversation. One of them would mention offhandedly that they had always planned to have a child, and regretted not having done so, and their young friend would inexplicably become teary-eyed, but blame it on allergies. Or one of them would ask her where she had grown up, and about her family, and she would be dabbing tears from her eyes. She explained, in vague terms, that she had always lived in England, but had lost her parents, and they would apologize for having asked, and change the topic.

Later, though, after their young acquaintance had gone home, one would observe to the other that she seemed peculiarly reluctant to speak of her past. Pleasant as she was, there seemed to be something mysterious about this young woman. Over time, they had learned to avoid certain subjects, though privately they wondered about her past and her current life. They had even tried to arrange dates for her a few times, somewhat clumsily, but with good intentions, and she had put an end to that by telling them that she had a boyfriend back in England, which also helped to explained her frequent absences. But they had never seen the boyfriend in Melbourne, and they had their doubts.

"And now you think you may have found a way to bring back their memories?" asked Harry.

"Maybe," Hermione replied. "And with a lot of help from Professor McGonagall. It's rather complicated, and we're not certain that it will work, but we think that it's worth a try."

"So what's my part in this?"

"Actually, I'd like you to play the boyfriend," Hermione replied. As she said this, Harry and Ginny individually wondered why Ron wouldn't be suitable for this job, but neither of them knew where things stood at the moment in that relationship. Ron, now an Auror, was often out of town for extended periods, and like Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione seemed to be content to let their relationship drift along. Of course, Harry knew Hermione well enough to be able to play the part of her boyfriend, but it did seem odd that she would choose him for this job. Maybe it was just that he had more free time than Ron.

"But first," Hermione continued, "I need to find another person for the spell-casting. And this is not a happy thing to contemplate." Harry anticipated what she would be saying. Complicated spells, particularly those involving more than one person working together, often called for a particular mix of personality traits and histories. Assembling the right group for such a spell could be an awkward exercise, often leaving people hurt and offended, either for having been included or excluded. Hermione lowered her voice, and continued, "At this point, I need another female, about our age, preferably one who has lost her parents. And it should be someone who has a fairly emotional makeup, which is awful, because what it all adds up to is that I need someone who experienced a loss from around the same time as so many others. And on top of that, someone who takes things like this very hard."

Ginny looked up, with tears in her eyes, and spoke quietly: "I'm already signed up, Harry, and one reason I'm qualified is because of the way we lost Fred."

Hermione reached across the table, placed her hand on one of Ginny's, and said, "Oh Ginny, I'm so sorry."

Ginny replied, "I know you are, and there's no need to go through this again." Turning to Harry, and smiling through her tears, she said, "You should have seen me when we first discussed this." And after a moment she added, "I need to wash up, and I'll get us another round. A nicer wine this time, Hermione? Something drier? And Harry, another pint of the same?"

Both of them nodded, and Hermione added, "Thanks, Gin."

Ginny picked up her purse and walked off to the washroom. Harry watched her for a moment, then turned to Hermione and asked, "Is she alright?"

"Well, Harry, you know how hard it's been on all of them since they lost Fred. We talked this out a couple of nights ago, and of course she agreed to do it, but I feel like a rat. At least she's a good friend, and she really wants to help, despite the pain. But now I need to find someone else, someone who I don't know as well, and who probably takes things even harder than she does ..."

A short while later, Ginny returned with drinks for herself and Hermione, then went back to the bar for Harry's beer. She sat down again, and said, "I just had a thought. It's awful, but I guess it has to be, under the circumstances. Hermione, how about your old roommate, Lavender?" Hermione started slightly, but said nothing.

Ginny continued: "I guess you know that her parents were hunted down and killed by those criminals, just before the battle at Hogwarts. And when it comes to emotion, I mean, it's not funny anymore, but you know how it's always right at the surface with her. I know you never hit it off with her back at school, and of course that snog-fest she had with Ron is reason enough for both of us to keep our distance. But it's been a few years, and that's all in the past. And I suppose we've all grown up a bit. So maybe she'd be right."

They sat quietly for a few moments, and then Hermione spoke, choosing her words carefully: "Look, regardless of our differences in temperament, Lavender was always a very nice person, and she certainly has suffered. And maybe I don't need to say this to you two, but I want to spell it out: I don't bear the slightest ill will towards her."

Then, serious again, Hermione continued: "But I just don't know if she would want to help me, and the last thing I'd want would be for her to think that she's under some kind of obligation to me. It was chaos that night, spells and curses flying everywhere. I just happened to be the one who was closest when that horrible Fenrir jumped on her." Hermione had saved Lavender's life with a blast to Fenrir Greyback, who had bitten Lavender in the neck, and was about to finish her off. Lavender had survived, but neither Ginny nor Hermione had heard much about her other than that.

Now Harry spoke: "I think she lives in north London, in her old family home, and she runs a little school. Neville and Luna told me something about it; they both teach there." Turning to Hermione, he continued, "How about if I talk to them, and see what I can learn? And then I can contact Lavender, if you want me to. I'll tell her a bit about what you're up to, and I promise to give her every possible chance to decline. And if she's agreeable, I can arrange for you to meet her. But only if you want me to ..." he trailed off.

Hermione nodded, and said, "Just don't pressure her, OK?"

Now the conversation turned to other subjects, and after a while they headed outside into the bright summer afternoon. Once again they exchanged friendly hugs, and then walked off in three different directions. But after taking a few steps, Harry turned and watched as the other two walked briskly away, back into their own lives, with goals and activities. Harry had two pints of beer in him, and with the sun still high in the sky he headed back to his flat, sent an owl to Neville and Luna with a few questions, and then settled down for a nap. A couple of hours later he received their answer, and he sent a short note to Lavender, asking if he could come by to speak with her. Later that evening he received a reply, which provided her address, and continued: "Supper tomorrow? Six o'clock?"

He sent his reply, and picked up his worn copy of _Nicholas Nickleby_ , which he'd read more than once before. There was something comforting about the life and adventures of young Nicholas, who struggled along, facing adversity, standing up for his family, and for the weak and helpless Smike, and eventually finding love, and a warm circle of friends. But that was just a fictional story from a long time ago.


	2. Three for Supper

The next evening, Harry apparated to Lavender's neighborhood in an old section of north London. He walked up the high street, turned into a small side lane, and was soon standing at her door. He knocked and waited. A few moments later, Lavender opened the door, shouted his name in greeting, pulled him into the front hall, and embraced him warmly. "Still the emotional type," he thought. "Well, that's what Hermione is looking for."

The enthusiastic welcome also made him somewhat uncomfortable. He and Lavender had known each other since their first day at Hogwarts, when they were first sorted into Gryffindor, but they had never been very close, and he was here to ask her to help with something that would likely bring her some degree of mental anguish. Like Hermione, he felt like a rat. As Lavender released him from her embrace, he said, "Hi Lavender; it's been a long time; good to see you."

Hearing himself speaking these words, Harry realized how impersonal he sounded, and with his next words he tried a little harder: "I've heard that things have been bad for you, and I'm sorry I didn't look you up sooner."

"It's alright," she replied soberly. "Actually, Harry, I've been a real mess for a long time, and it's probably for the best that we didn't do this sooner."

Harry handed her a bottle of wine, a bit embarrassed at the conventionality of the act, and he felt unsure of how to proceed. With a sympathetic smile, he answered, "Well, that makes two of us. I've also been kind of a mess."

And now another female voice called out from within, "Hey, you two messes, it's OK; our whole generation is damaged," and around the corner from the sitting room came Parvati Patil, who had been Lavender's best friend all through school. As fellow Gryffindors from the same year as Harry and Hermione, Lavender and Parvati had roomed with Hermione during their school years. Harry hadn't expected anyone else to be present this evening, but this was fine. He would just have to find the right time to tell Lavender why he was here.

"Hi Parvati; great to see you too!" Again he felt that he was being superficial.

Lavender waved the other two back into the sitting room as she headed down the hallway towards the kitchen, wine bottle in hand. Parvati smiled, raised her arms, and hugged Harry closely to her. While embracing him, she spoke quietly into his ear, "I'm glad to see you, Harry, I really am, but if you hurt her I'll destroy you."

As she released him from the embrace, Harry looked into her eyes, feeling a mixture of defensiveness at the implication in her statement, and enough understanding of Lavender's situation to know why her best friend might say such a thing, even in jest. He shook his head slightly, and replied quietly, "I'm not here to hurt her."

"Harry," Parvati continued, still speaking quietly, "I invited myself here tonight to make sure that you understood a few things. She is really vulnerable." Harry nodded his acknowledgement, and the two separated and settled into easy chairs.

Lavender returned, and they sat for a few minutes, enjoying wine and fruit, while catching up with each other's lives. Soon, however, Lavender said, "Harry, before things go much further, I need to tell you something, so you'll understand how things are different with me: I guess you know that I was badly injured at the battle. I've been recovering very slowly since then, and I'm not really the person you remember. Still a fool, of course," she said lightly, with a smile and a wave of her hand, "but not as flighty as I used to be. That bite I received had around a dozen spells and toxins in it, and they've all been removed, but I've been working through this for a long time. Nightmares for years, seriously." Here she wiped a tear away. "I'm almost better now, but not quite." Smiling, as another tear hung on her cheek, she continued, "Maybe I'll become my silly old self again some day, but I'm not there yet."

"We all went through enough grief for twenty lifetimes," said Harry. "I admire anyone who can smile at all at this point, even if it is through a few tears. And I really am sorry I never looked you two up in all this time. I guess I've been kind of self-absorbed."

"So are you Ron and Ginny and Hermione still a gang?" Lavender asked. "Nobody ever got into as much trouble as you folks, but as we began to see what was going on in the world, we eventually realized how much you were doing for all of us." From the corner of his eye, Harry could see Parvati watching him closely as Lavender delivered these appreciative comments.

"We're pretty much the same," he replied. "We get together a lot. Ron's off somewhere right now, on Auror work, but I just saw Hermione and Ginny in the city yesterday. As for the romance angle, Ron and Hermione are still together, at least they seem to be. It doesn't really move forward or backward very much with them. And I guess I'm still going with Ginny ..." he trailed off.

"You guess?" asked Parvati. "You don't know? You can't say for sure if you're in a relationship with Ginny?"

"Look, I'm sorry," said Harry. "I already told you I'm a mess. I lost so many people during those years, and I never had a chance to say goodbye to anyone. You said it yourself a few minutes ago, Parvati, we're a damaged generation," and now his eyes began to tear up, and he turned his gaze downward. "I look around, and I see other people recovering, but I keep drifting along. I don't know why I'm different. Did I suffer more, or am I just weak? Maybe I've just gotten used to being miserable, and it feels easiest to stay like this.

"But it's actually true about Ginny, though I hadn't put it in words before. If I really ask myself that question, I just don't know if we're a couple. On the surface, yes, we're together a lot. But maybe she's just sticking around out of pity, or loyalty, or habit. Maybe she's just waiting for a chance to move on without hurting me too much." He slumped in his chair and stared at the opposite wall.

"Harry, I'm sorry," said Parvati. "I shouldn't have attacked you like that. Lav has been low for a long time, and I've gotten used to fending off trouble, and I projected that on you." She rose and walked over to where Harry was seated, kneeled beside him, put her arms around him, and repeated, "I'm sorry." Harry continued to stare ahead blankly, but he quietly nodded his acceptance of her apology.

Lavender had been silent during this exchange, and now the other two turned towards her, as she spoke: "I'm OK," she said, "I'm just so drained of strength that moments like this scare me." She suddenly sobbed loudly, and held a handkerchief to her face. "Please be nice to each other! We're all friends here. And I don't think Parvati will mind if I tell you, Harry, that when I told her earlier today that you'd be coming over for supper, she asked if I'd like her to be here too, and since my chief personality traits these days are helplessness and indecision, I figured that if she was here, she could handle things if I couldn't. She's been carrying me for a long time; I just have such a hard time with everything ..." And she subsided again into quiet sobbing.

Parvati, still kneeling beside Harry's chair, turned to Lavender and said, "You're going to be better, Lav, you really are. It will take some time still, but you're almost through it." And after a moment she added, "Look, if you guys want me to go, I'm fine with that. If the two of you would rather catch up on things without me here, I can leave."

"No, please stay," said Harry. "Really. I want to know what's going on with both of you, and Padma, and anyone else you know about. I did want to talk with Lavender about something, but it's not urgent, and I can come back another time for that."

Parvati turned to Lavender, who nodded in agreement, and said "Don't go, Parv. It's pretty clear that the two of us need someone to be the life of the party. You entertain, and we'll weep, OK?" This elicited three smiles.

Hoping to move the discussion in a more positive direction, Harry said, "You two have really stuck together for a long time. Back in school, Ron and I were fighting with each other half the time, and if either of us did open up and said something serious, the other one was generally oblivious. We just took turns at it."

"How about you and Hermione?" asked Parvati. "I mean, you don't need to tell us your secrets if you don't want to, but you've said that you're not really sure about you and Ginny, or about Ron and Hermione. You must know that people have wondered about you and Hermione for a long time. There's always been this belief that the two of you were fated to end up together."

"Yeah, we're both aware of the rumors, but the answer is no, plain and simple," said Harry. "We were traveling together for quite a while, during seventh year, and if something was going to happen, I guess that would have been the time. But it didn't. I really do love her dearly, but it's like a brother - sister thing. You know, when we were little, during our first year or two at school, I was sometimes even afraid of her. Ron had a bunch of older brothers, and he was used to being around people who knew more than he did about everything. I grew up with a cousin, but he was just big and lazy. With Hermione, everything she said was a surprise, she was always way ahead of us. That was a new experience for me. And then, as we got older, I didn't fear her any more, but I didn't think of her in any other way than as a friend and fellow soldier. And then she and Ron got together. And that's about everything."

He thought for a second, and continued, "You two were her roommates, and I guess you never really clicked with her. That's too bad, but I guess I understand. She sometimes comes off as a know-it-all, but it's because she thrives on figuring things out, and it's part of the package. She's brilliant, and she's brave, and she's loyal as hell, but sometimes she gets so focused on something that it's hard to break into her world." After a pause, he added, "And if I were going to tell you what I really think, it's that she also hides some of her deeper self behind that stuff. You know, like if she's working on solving a problem, she doesn't have to admit that she's confused about her feelings for people."

"That makes sense," said Lavender. "I mean, speaking strictly for myself," and here she smiled at Parvati, "it's pretty clear that we just had different personalities and interests. I admit that I was kind of an airhead, and I can see how Hermione would have looked elsewhere for companionship. Maybe we'd get along better now. I certainly don't bear her any ill will."

Harry noted that this was exactly what Hermione had said of Lavender the day before, but he didn't think that much good would come from mentioning it, and he let the comment pass.

All three were lost in their thoughts for a few moments, and then Lavender stood, and said, "Well, it's almost time to eat. I'll go get things ready. Don't get up. It'll be around ten minutes, and I can manage alone." She walked back to the hallway, and towards the kitchen.

Parvati was staring past the chair that Lavender had been sitting in, at a group portrait of Lavender as a small child, with her parents. Like all magical photographs, the characters were moving. In this case, little Lavender, apparently at the age of three or four, was sitting on a sofa, between her parents, alternately facing toward her mother and father, while they looked at her from either side with loving smiles. Without turning toward Harry, Parvati spoke in a low tone, clearly intending that Lavender not overhear, and asked, "Are you here to ask Lavender to help with that spell that Hermione is working on, to bring back her parents' memories?"

"Yes, but I'll tell you right now that if it would be too painful for her to participate, I'll call it off." He made a slicing gesture with one hand as he said this. "I may miss a lot of clues, but I've seen more than enough tonight, and as I told you earlier, I don't want to hurt her."

"Look, Harry, how about if we try to enjoy the evening, and you tell her that you'll come back tomorrow to explain what you want from her? There's a pub nearby, the Angry Boar, straight to the left a couple of blocks after you get back to the main road. When you leave tonight, I'll stick around for another half hour, and then I'll meet you there. Does that sound good?"

"Yes, perfect. And how did you guess what this was about?"

"Oh, I know a thing or two about spells and personalities, and Padma told me about this plan of Hermione's a while back. Both of them have been spending a lot of time at Hogwarts, and Hermione mentioned it to her a few weeks ago."

"And may I ask you another question?"

"Sure."

"It's pretty clear that Lavender and I are hopeless cases. Are you in better shape than the rest of us?"

"Sometimes, when you have a job to do, you don't have much time to worry about yourself."

"That sounds like a line from a Bogart movie."

"Are you saying that Muggles have made movies about boggarts?"

"Humphrey Bogart, my dear."

"Oh, _that_ Bogart," Parvati replied, with a smile. "Well, maybe I am getting along better than a lot of other people. Or maybe, as soon as Lavender is fully recovered, it'll be my turn to have a breakdown."

"Look, Parvati, after what I've heard tonight I just want to say that she's very lucky to have you as her friend."

"Thanks, Harry. I'm almost ready to start thinking you're OK. But then I think of that Yule Ball ..."

"Hey, I already told you I'm clueless. Weren't you paying attention?" Both of them smiled.

At this point Lavender returned, now wearing an apron. Waving a wooden spoon like a wand, she announced, theatrically, "Supper time!"

Parvati and Harry followed her to the dining room and seated themselves at the table, which was set with bowls of salads, condiments, and other items. Now Lavender waved her wand gently towards the kitchen, and three steaming serving dishes floated into the dining room and onto hotplates. "I hope you don't mind a vegetarian supper, Harry," she said.

"No problem at all," Harry replied. "It looks delicious."

They ate, talked, and carried on as though they had no worries. Harry asked whether they were working at anything, after confessing that he had been idling for too long, and hadn't really settled on a plan for his future.

"Well," said Parvati, "I have a bakery not far from here. You'll get a chance to sample some of the items for dessert tonight. And Padma is a Healer now, or rather, working on becoming one, but she's really talented. Please don't say that she was always the academic one, and I was the touchy-feely one, and that our occupations reflect it. I'm kind of sensitive about that."

"Actually," replied Harry, in a pseudo-scholarly voice, "I have read extensively on the subject of twins, and the experts agree that there is no evidence whatsoever that the talents of one are denied to the other."

"You actually read something like that?"

"Nope, not a thing. I just don't see why anyone would have such a stupid idea in the first place. And how about you, Lavender? I think I heard something about a school that you run?"

"Yes, I have a little school, right here in the house, and in the gardens out back. For children up to age ten, and even a bit beyond, if they're not ready to move on yet."

"And you have space for that?"

"It's a large house, and we've converted some rooms in the back to classrooms. You probably heard something from Luna and Neville; they're both teachers here, and the kids love them. And there are three other regular teachers as well. And various people come in and teach special lessons. You should see Parvati teaching the children to bake; sometimes there's more flour in the air than in the bowls, but the kids bring home wonderful pastries and cakes." Looking around, and seeing that everyone's fork was down, she continued, "OK, are we all done? Great, let's try some of those cakes."

Lavender levitated the casseroles and most of the other items back into the kitchen, and replaced them with a tray that carried a selection of small dessert cakes, along with a pitcher of coffee. They ate and drank their fill, then trooped into the kitchen and washed the dishes together. Harry suggested that he might return another day to talk about the matter that had caused him to contact Lavender in the first place, and Lavender invited him to join her for a late breakfast the next morning, a Sunday. They set a time for him to arrive, and he thanked Lavender and Parvati, exchanged friendly hugs and kisses with them, and headed out into the night.


	3. Parvati Explains

After leaving Lavender's home, Harry walked back to the high road, turned left, walked two more blocks, and located the Angry Boar. He didn't want to drink alone, so rather than enter, he decided to wait for Parvati outside. He strolled through the small commercial district, looking at the shop windows, and glancing back towards Lavender's home from time to time to see if Parvati was approaching. One of the shops was a bakery, and the name on the front was Sweet Cakes; Harry wondered if this might be Parvati's bakery.

After a while he saw Parvati approaching, and as she walked up he asked, "Is this your place?"

"Yes, though most of my customers don't know that Sweet Cakes is also what I call my boyfriend. Actually, we call each other that. Don't tell anyone you can't trust, OK?"

Harry chuckled and said, "I'll try not to, but the temptation will be strong. Well, there's the pub; are we going in, or would you rather shout at me out here?"

Parvati looked at Harry appraisingly for a moment, and replied, "Actually, Harry, as tempting as that would be, shouting at you might not be the best approach. And I think I'd rather talk in a more private place." She nodded towards the bakery, and said, "I live upstairs." She tapped her wand on the door lock, the bolt slid back, and they entered the darkened shop, walked through to the rear, climbed a stairway to the second floor, and entered a small, neat flat. "It's late, Harry, and I have to get up early to bake, so I only have time to give you the basics. Herb tea?"

"Yes, thanks."

Parvati set some water to boil, and pointed to a group of tea tins with the labels of several varieties. Harry asked her to choose for him, and she filled a tea ball, prepared it, and handed him a mug. The tea was warm and fruity, and Harry soon felt relaxed, but prepared to be attentive after an evening that already had provided much to consider.

Parvati began, "Well, what do you think?"

"Good opening," he replied. "And I'm glad to speak first. So, what do I think? First, I think that you and Lavender are very lucky to have each other. I've had good friends who stood by me through the worst, and it looks like the same is true for you two. Also, I'm really sorry to hear how hard it's been for her. And after a pretty nice evening, I'm finding that I like you two a lot, and I wish I'd known you better back in school. Now, having said all that, may I speak freely?" Parvati nodded.

"OK. Now, since you asked what I'm thinking, here goes: Even with the little I've seen, it's pretty clear that Lavender has been to hell and back, several times over. I don't know the proper terms, so I can't say if her problem now is depression or something else, but if the toxins and spells have been removed, I guess that whatever remains is mainly psychological. Of course, that's just an amateurish guess, and I know it. So maybe she's on her way back to some kind of normalcy, and perhaps she'll get there one of these days. But here's where I want to speak freely: I'm also worried about you. I can see that you've been carrying a lot of Lavender's burden, and that you've become really protective of her. And I agree that you were right to warn me about saying or doing the wrong thing, and making her life more difficult, so I'm fine with the way you greeted me. Well, almost fine," he added, smiling for a moment, "but it's still sad to see your flashes of hostility. So I hope that you can find a way to work through that.

"And before we go any further, there's something I want to say about Hermione's plans: I will follow your lead on this, no questions asked. You know Lavender better than anyone, and if you think we shouldn't ask her to be part of this, that will be the end of it, and Hermione will have to find someone else to help her, full stop. For what it's worth, I want you to know that Hermione was not the one who suggested Lavender for this; she was telling me about the characteristics that the person should have, and I thought of Lavender." This, in fact, was not true, as Ginny had been the one to suggest Lavender's name, but Harry felt responsible for having pursued the plan, possibly to Lavender's detriment, and it seemed best to attribute it to himself. "And if I go back and tell Hermione that Lavender can't do it, that will be the end of it. And I guess that's pretty much what I think."

"Thank you, Harry. I appreciate your concern, for both of us, and I'm glad to hear that we won't have to argue about Hermione's plan. And I am sorry for jumping on you the way I did, but when you know more you may understand. Still, that doesn't excuse me, and I understand what you're saying about me being antagonistic. It's something I need to work on.

"Now, for tonight, I think you need to know two basic things, and I'll try to be quick about it.

"First, after the battle at Hogwarts, I remember that you headed out quickly. I know there were other things to do, and that you and Ron and Hermione and some of the others were part of that. So you weren't around in the days just afterward. My parents arrived shortly after the battle ended, and they whisked us home. That lasted for around two days. Padma and I had no idea who had died and who had survived, apart from what we'd seen personally, and we pleaded and argued with them until they gave in and brought us back. When they saw that everything had quieted down, and that the castle had basically become a heavily guarded hospital, they let us stay, with severe warnings about what we should do if the situation changed. So we promised, and they went home.

"There were about a hundred people who were wounded and still there, in various conditions. Most of them were housed in the Great Hall, but twenty or so of the most severe cases had been brought up to the infirmary. That had been done while Padma and I were away, and we didn't know who was upstairs. Several Healers had come in from St. Mungo's and elsewhere, including a few from other countries, so there were a lot of specialists present. Madam Pomfrey and some of the others came down to the Great Hall on a regular schedule, and did rounds, along with Professor McGonagall, who was in charge of everything, but they spent most of their time upstairs. People from the outside were constantly arriving to see how their relatives were doing, and we could sometimes guess who was upstairs from the traffic, but nobody actually told us anything. Professor McGonagall was very strict about that.

"Now, you may already know this, but Lavender's parents had been killed just a couple of days before the battle. They were in Italy at the time, and it seems that some follower of Voldemort's found them there, and just killed them outright. There had been no word about it yet. All the owls at Hogwarts had scattered during the battle, and we were pretty much cut off from things. Lavender's parents didn't come visiting, so Padma and I had no idea that she was upstairs; we just figured that she was safe at home with her Mum and Dad. And by the way, Padma and I knew Lavender's parents. We used to visit each other during summer breaks, and we even traveled with them a couple of times to their place in Italy. They were the sweetest, kindest people you can imagine, and when we stayed with them we just felt like two more daughters in the family."

While relating these events Parvati had remained calm, taking occasional sips of tea, but her eyes had begun to tear up as she recalled various details, and now they were running freely as she spoke. She dabbed at them occasionally with her handkerchief, and Harry was struck by the contrast between her voice, which remained controlled and steady, and her increasingly mournful appearance. She continued, "So there we were, Padma and I, and a few other students, and some other folks who were helping out, just doing whatever had to be done, from spoon-feeding people who were too weak to feed themselves, to changing dressings, administering potions, or just sitting and talking with those who had been injured. Most of them were getting better, often very quickly, but some just seemed to linger as they were, and a few were going down hill.

"And that's when we started to see Padma's healing talents. I would look at a person and see their general state, but Padma would notice little things like a certain color to the mucus around the eyes, or an odd breathing pattern, or that a person's hands were cold and their feet were warm, and almost every time she mentioned something like this to one of the Healers it turned out to be significant. They had already seen these symptoms, and they were impressed that Padma was noticing them. There are a lot of strange spells out there, and the symptoms are sometimes pretty odd too. And somehow, Padma was picking up on these things.

"But look, these were people we knew, Harry, and every day some of them would start to feel better, or head home, but others were deteriorating." At this point, the contrast that Harry had noted between Parvati's voice and her appearance suddenly evaporated. Her voice cracked, and she broke into great sobs and shudders of grief, wailing uncontrollably, speaking in short bursts before being overcome again and returning to her sobbing and moaning. She would speak a few names of the fallen, and then collapse into tears again. "Cho! Fred! Little Colin Creevey! All gone!" Harry rose from his chair and kneeled beside her, as she had kneeled beside him earlier that evening. He held her closely to him as she continued to sob and shake, and soon he was weeping freely himself, though quietly, as Parvati alternated between wailing and attempting to speak.

Soon she quieted down, held the handkerchief to her face, and sat limply, except when seized by another spasm. "I was sitting there with Cho when she died! She seemed fine right after the battle, but then she began to feel ill. Some curse had hit her, but nobody could tell what it was. So they put her to bed, and she was stable for a while, just really tired and not improving. We had talked earlier that day, she had smiled a bit, and now she was sleeping and I was sitting beside her bed, and suddenly she just gasped in her sleep and died. I think I screamed, or called out, and people came running, but it was too late. Somebody led me outside and sat me down on the front steps. I closed my eyes and held my knees up to my body as tightly as I could, and I just rocked and moaned and cried. I wouldn't open my eyes, and I wouldn't talk or respond to anyone. I didn't know you could cry that much and not just shrivel up and die of dehydration.

"After an hour or so of that, Padma led me back inside, and someone gave me a sleeping potion, and I slept for a day. And when I woke I just lay there on my back and looked at the ceiling, and I wouldn't answer anyone who spoke to me, or respond to anything. I just didn't want to be in a world where things like that could happen. But after lying there for a while I began to realize that I was allowing myself to be a burden on everyone else, and I thought, "How the hell can I just lie here, with Padma watching _me_ , when there are people who really need help?"

Now, Parvati began to settle down, and to speak calmly again. Her eyes and nose were running, and she wiped away the tears and blew her nose a few times, while her sobs gradually subsided. Harry released her from his embrace, handed her another handkerchief, and returned to his chair. He started to say, "Parvati, you don't have to tell me all this - " but she waved away his remark, and said, "I'm OK; this is what I do once in a while. It would be worse if I didn't." And smiling through her tears, she added, "But if you've been wondering why I don't giggle as much as I used to ..."

Watching her, Harry thought about Lavender's suggestion earlier that evening that she and Harry could weep while Parvati kept the conversation going. It seemed, however, that all three of them had similar problems, with past events that wouldn't fade away, and he wondered if Lavender was aware of how painful these memories still were for Parvati. The two of them spent a lot of time together, and surely Lavender had seen this. Or could it be that Parvati was hiding it from her?

Now Parvati was calm again, and she continued her account. "So I got up, and I went back to work. But it was different now. I was going through the motions, but I was listless. As the number of patients continued to drop, some of the others who were helping went home, but Padma stayed, and if she wasn't leaving, I wasn't either. I think they were slipping me a potion every night so I'd sleep, but I don't really know. Maybe I was just so drained of energy and emotion that I dropped into a dead sleep every night on my own.

"Well, after a few more weeks it was over. I think we lost something like twenty people downstairs, and the other sixty or so had recovered enough to go home, in various states of health. A few of the people who had recovered had no place to go, so they stuck around and found things to do. Lots of cleaning up, stuff like that. The same thing had been happening upstairs, some people recovering, while others were lost, but the death rate was higher there.

"And then, one day, Professor McGonagall came to see me, and she said a lot of nice things about what a wonderful job I'd done, and how much I had helped, and how sorry she was that young people like myself had been exposed to such horrors. I listened quietly, but I just knew there was something else coming. And then she got to the point. There were eight people left upstairs, and one of them was Lavender!"

Now Parvati broke into sobs again. This time Harry stayed in his chair and sat quietly until she settled down. Then she continued, speaking almost monotonically, as though in a trance, "They asked Padma to help upstairs, and I followed her up there, like a wraith. I hardly spoke words. I think now that I was just grunting at people when they spoke to me, or maybe I was talking, but it didn't feel like I was. I might have helped a bit up there, but I was probably more in the way. I think Professor McGonagall realized that I had to be near Padma and Lavender, so she let me stay. There were curtains around the eight beds, and I don't even know who the other seven were. If someone came to visit one of them, we would be shuffled out through another door, and we could only return after they'd left. One by one the others were removed, alive or dead, and Lavender was the last one remaining. She'd been bitten by that horrible Fenrir. He was in human form when he did it, so she wasn't going to become a werewolf, but that was almost beside the point, because I don't think anyone expected her to survive."

Suddenly, Parvati broke out of her near trance, and looked over to Harry, her face swollen around the eyes, her cheeks wet with tears. "More tea? I need to stand up."

"Yes, please," he replied, and he stayed seated, staring across the room and imagining the Great Hall at Hogwarts as a hospital. He knew that Cho had died shortly after the battle, though he hadn't previously heard the details that Parvati had just related. As he sat here now, he reflected privately on his memories of Cho from their years together at school, on his past feelings for her, and on how it had never quite clicked for them. Very little had come of it, but the attraction had been strong, and the old emotions came back to him now. Nobody else knew about the feelings he'd had for her, except Hermione, who had seen it at the time, and he was determined that nobody else ever would know; some things, he thought, need to stay hidden. Behind him he heard the kettle whistling, and the water being poured, and soon Parvati set down a hot mug on the table beside him, and returned to her chair.

"The rest is long and boring," she said, "and I think I've calmed down again, but I could erupt at any moment. Padma and I stayed upstairs with Lavender. Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey and some other folks came and went, performed various spells and such, and we just watched. Well, actually, I just watched, and Padma assisted and learned. For three months Lavender just lay there, cold and still, breathing slowly, but not much more than that. Nobody knew if she would recover. She could have died any day.

"And do you want to know who the other hero in all of this was?"

"Who?" said Harry, wondering which great Healer had been called in from some distant part of the world.

"Professor Snape. No, don't argue, Harry. I know he was killed that night. But he was an unbelievable potions master, and he had especially studied Defense Against the Dark Arts, which goes way beyond things like spells and dueling. A lot of it is about potions. He had been gathering ingredients, developing anti-potions, rediscovering and improving old ones, and working on a manuscript on the subject for years. He had seen that the day was coming when there would be a need for these things. I think that only Professor McGonagall knew what he was doing, well, I suppose Professor Dumbledore did too, but with Snape and Dumbledore gone, it fell to her to carry it forward.

"He had left stocks of several of the anti-potions that took a long time to prepare, and they were ready when we needed them. So although he wasn't there to administer the cures, we were using his potions and recipes every day. I don't know how many lives were saved, in the Great Hall, and upstairs in the Hospital Tower, by the use of his manuscript and all of the things that he had gathered and prepared. Lavender was surely one of them. One by one, the Healers removed and neutralized all the awful stuff that was in her, until the last one was gone.

"Lavender was still sick, her body kind of burning off the residues, and she was just starting to heal physically. But with the causes of the symptoms removed, she began to breathe more easily. Then came mumbling and cries, though she was still unconscious. I would sit there for hours with her, holding her hand, and squeezing it from time to time, talking to her, reading to her, wondering if anything I was saying was getting through.

"Do you know that she loves Jane Austen? During that time I read all six novels to her, and even some of the minor works, which seems to put me in some kind of a special club with the real fanatics. So now I know who she's talking about when she mentions people like Lydia Bennet, or Lady Catherine, or those awful Crawfords and Eltons. After a while they grow on you; somehow, those characters are horrible, and irritating, and hilarious at the same time. And then you run into someone who behaves exactly like one of them, and you realize that you actually can make it in this world, because those people have been captured and described like a species of butterfly, by a true master; and somehow, it feels like they can't hurt you so much. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yes. For me it's characters like Ralph Nickleby and Wackford Squeers."

Parvati nodded, and continued her story: "So I fed her, and I bathed her, and I waited and waited, and Padma did the same. And after what had happened to Cho, I refused to let myself believe that she would ever recover. We took care of her, but we didn't have much hope. And by this time we had learned that her parents were dead."

Parvati stopped speaking for a moment, sobbed a bit, then continued: "Lavender can tell you about the rest herself. One night she just opened her eyes and looked up at Padma. She says it was like she had been 100 miles deep in the ocean, and she had been rising slowly through miles and miles of water, with demons, and creatures, and horrible images all around her, and then, that night, it was like she just popped out at the surface, and opened her eyes, and there was Padma, sitting with her, holding her hand, with the moonlight streaming through the window. It had been something like three months since the battle, and during that time nobody could say if she would recover. And here's where I usually start to cry again, Harry, so get ready," and Parvati reached for her handkerchief.

But this time the tears didn't come, and she shrugged and said, "Maybe I'm all cried out for the night." Now she continued: "So she just looked up at Padma, and asked, 'Where are my Mum and Dad?' And she says now that she knew in an instant, just by the way Padma looked back at her, that they were gone. So she closed her eyes again, and fell back to sleep. She was crying in her sleep, and Padma held her hand and washed her face as she slept. And the next day she was conscious again.

"About a month later, we took her home. I mean, to her home. My parents knew it was hopeless to try to keep me away from her, and they moved in with us for a while too, so it was the four of us in Lavender's house. I took care of her, and my parents took care of me. And Padma dropped by a lot, sometimes with Madam Pomfrey, to check on her. That was around three years ago. After another month or so she was ready to start walking, and she began to spend time in her gardens, which I guess you'll see tomorrow. And after a while she was able to walk as far as my place, if someone came along with her. I had purchased this building, with my parents' help, but I wasn't sure what I was going to do here. And one day, sitting right where you are now, drinking tea, she told me that she had decided to open a school in her house.

"Well, that's the first of the two things I needed to tell you. I have to get up in a few hours, so I'll try to be really quick about this. And you should just sleep here, if you want to. I'll get up to bake, and you can come downstairs whenever you want, because you need to be back at Lavender's sometime in the morning, right?"

"I'm not sure I should go over there in the same clothes I've worn all day," Harry said. "I kind of need to shower and change."

"Oh, I can help you with that. Bruno leaves a few changes of clothes here, and I think they'll fit you well enough. They're in that cabinet. Sleep here, get up in the morning, shower, and put on whatever you like."

"Bruno? Is he that really wonderful guy from Beauxbatons?"

"Yes, and he's all mine, so don't tell any of your girlfriends about him."

"My girlfriends? Oh, you must mean the ones who follow me around, waiting for me to choose someone who's just right for them. Is that the way you see my life?"

"Well, maybe not exactly." They both smiled.

"Wait a minute," said Harry. "Is Bruno the guy you danced with at the Yule Ball, after I behaved so dreadfully?"

"Yes."

"So I'm kind of responsible for setting you two up, right? Here you are, making fun of me, and it turns out that I did find your boyfriend for you!"

"Harry," Parvati replied, with a smile, "it's hard to see how you 'found him,' as you say, since all you did was abandon me. I think we found each other."

Harry smiled in reply, and Parvati continued, "OK, now here's the other thing you should know: Lavender's school is for the children of the generation that lived through this horror. Most of the parents are several years older than us, but basically these are damaged families with parents and kids who have experienced all kinds of traumas. Many of the parents lost their spouses, but even the couples that are intact are often really messed up. They're like us, Harry, just trying to recover, but they also have children to care for. The kids are between four and ten years old, and one day they'll go off to Hogwarts, or somewhere else.

"And while I go through all of this, let's not forget to mention the biggest surprise of all, at least for those who never knew her the way I did: Lavender Brown, who is remembered by all as the silliest girl who ever walked the halls of Hogwarts, has made it her personal mission to help these children grow up to be as happy and normal as possible. Your old classmate, Lavender, who spent a good part of her school years ooh-ing and aah-ing at the boys, along with yours truly, turns out to be a saint, and a really smart one too. It's all about helping these kids to be happy, and giving them a sense of balance in this wicked world. And since she has a few Galleons in the bank, the school is free to all comers. Everyone is there on charity, except a few people who insist on paying. She pays the salaries of five teachers, and covers the rest of the expenses as well. And she tells me she's fine, as far as the money goes, but I have a suspicion that she's going broke and won't admit it. Please don't tell her I said that, OK?

"Now, this is what I want you to know about the parents of these kids: What did I just tell you about them? These are folks who lost their homes, or lost their spouses, and in some cases even some of their children. These people have been threatened and attacked and worse, and their friends and relatives have been maimed and killed. So they find this wonderful school for their children that's all about love and understanding and growth and creativity. And they show up every morning, and they walk their children down the little pathway beside the house, to the rear, and they greet the teachers, and kiss their kids goodbye, and then they walk back up that path to the front of the house. But sometimes, rather than leave, they knock on the front door, and good old Lavender invites them in. She's the headmistress, and she's there with a smile, and an easy chair, and a cup of tea, and she listens, and nods, and sympathizes, as they talk with her, because she cares about the children and their parents. Do you see where this is heading?"

"I think so," said Harry, "and I guess it explains the way you greeted me this evening. What did you tell me you'd do, if I hurt her? Oh wait, I remember. Something about destroying me."

"Yes, you've got it. Look, I feel sorry for these people. How could I not? You know what they've been through. But these dads sit down in her parlor, and they drink her tea, and they talk about how horrible it's been, and how hard it is to raise their children without a mother, who was killed by some Death Eater, and Lavender listens, and she's all kindness and sympathy. So they talk, and they weep, and they let all their feelings out, and one by one they fall in love with her. They come to believe that she's the answer to their prayers. I try to find ways to steer them away, gently if I can, and they usually get the message, but some of them are persistent, and I have to be more direct. These men are lonely and lost, and you know Lavender; she's just too sweet for her own good!" Here they both smiled knowingly.

Parvati's eyes were welling up again as she continued: "So be nice to her, Harry, and please, _please_ , don't play with her heart. She's stronger now than she has been, and quite different from what she was like when we were in school, but in many ways she's still the same child-like Lavender, who just wants everyone to be happy. When someone starts to cry, and tells her their problems, and says that they wish they could find the right person to help them feel complete again, someone to be a good mother for their children, you know, someone just like her, she gets drawn in. And look, some of these guys are really nice, and maybe one of them is perfect for her, but I can't tell which, and she's still so fragile, so for now I think I'm doing the right thing by trying to keep them away until she's strong enough to work things out herself."

"Parv, thanks. I understand, and I promise I won't go there with her. And I won't forget the other promise I made to you earlier this evening. I won't ask her to get involved with Hermione's scheme unless you tell me it's OK."

"Thanks, Harry. Now, about Hermione's plans, I actually think it should be Lavender's decision, even if I do seem to be running her life. The bakery is only open until one o'clock tomorrow, and maybe I should come by afterward to hear about the plan with her. Why don't you go over in the morning, talk with her, see the gardens, ask her about the school, and take your time bringing up plans to go spell-casting with Hermione. It actually might be a good thing for Lavender to be part of that. Despite all of my protectiveness, I can see that she's recovered to the point that she can begin to make her own decisions, and this could be a step in that direction."

She paused a moment, smiled, and added, in a mock-threatening voice, "But I haven't resigned the position yet, and if I discover that you've kissed her, or even told her that she's a wonderful person, you'll have to answer to me."

Parvati found a blanket and pillow and a couple of towels for Harry, pointed him towards the sofa, and headed off to her bedroom. In the morning, Harry awakened to the aroma of freshly baking bread. He showered, dressed in Bruno's clothes, and went downstairs to the bakery.


	4. Lavender Explains

Freshly showered, and dressed in Bruno's clothes, Harry descended the stairs from Parvati's flat to the bakery. It was a Sunday morning, a little before ten o'clock, and Harry could tell by the chatter in the shop that the bakery had a friendly, local clientele. Parvati reminded Harry that she would close the store at one PM, and then head over to Lavender's place. Harry walked out to the street, and up the block, and in a few minutes he was knocking on the front door of Lavender's home.

"Hi, Harry," Lavender said, as she opened the door. "Breakfast is almost ready. We also have a couple of old friends here, Luna and Neville. They came by to check on our stocks in the art room, and I asked them to join us. They had breakfast earlier, but they want to see you, so they'll have coffee with us. After that, they'll be working in the house, and we can discuss that other business."

She showed him through to an area near the back of the house that had been converted for school use. The walls were painted in bright colors, and the doorways led to classrooms set up with small chairs, tables, bookshelves, boxes of supplies, and other schoolroom paraphernalia. The hallway continued past the classrooms to a patio at the rear of the house. From the patio, a few steps above the garden that lay beyond, Harry could see the general layout. There was a grassy area just behind the house, and beyond that an area divided by hedges and walls into several separate gardens. Two trays sat on a table nearby. "Let's take these out," said Lavender, "and I'll come back for the last things."

The trays held bowls, pitchers, and jars of fruit, cereal, yogurt, honey, and cream. Each of them lifted a tray, and they walked down the stone steps of the patio, across the grassy area, and through a gap in the hedge beyond, into a rose garden. There were gravel walkways meandering among rose bushes of several varieties, some still in flower, and others long past blooming, and now laden with rose hips. Harry saw openings here and there in the hedges on the left and right sides, as well as at the rear. They walked through one of the openings at the rear, then down three steps into a second garden, this one with formal plantings of flowering shrubs and perennials, and with a small fountain in the center. A table stood near the fountain, with four set places and garden chairs around it. The table already bore two trays, holding plates with muffins, scones, butter, and preserves, a jug of coffee, and a variety of condiments. Luna and Neville were sitting at the table, with cups of coffee at their sides, and they rose to greet Harry. Lavender showed Harry where to set his tray. She placed hers beside it, asked the other three to set the table, and turned back towards the house to fetch the last few items.

Harry hugged his two old friends, and they turned to setting the table. Harry then settled into a chair, while Neville poured a cup of coffee for him, and said, "It's great to see you, Harry; and welcome to 'Cafe Lavender', where the food is always excellent! I'm kind of sorry that we ate earlier."

"Service with a smile, eh?" replied Harry.

"Actually, Harry, it could be much more than a smile," answered Luna. "It's pretty obvious that you and Lavender could be very happy together." Harry looked at Luna in surprise, then over to Neville, who smiled and shrugged.

"Luna always says what she's thinking," said Neville, as he reached over, took her hand in his, and kissed the back of it. "You know that. And I'm sorry to have to remind you, Harry, but I think you also know that she sees things that a lot of us miss."

"Look, I need to tell you guys something before Lavender returns," said Harry, "which is that I'm not here on a social visit. I'm here on behalf of Hermione, who's looking for some help with a project. And Luna, I've been hearing that Lavender is still recovering from her injuries and the loss of her parents. Parvati asked me to be very gentle with her, and she specifically said that Lavender isn't ready for romantic attachments, so please don't say anything like that while she's around."

Luna replied, "Don't worry, Harry, I agree with Parvati. It's been very sad to see Lavender's struggles, and I know that she's still healing. I won't say anything like that around her, but I do think that it's something you should consider, once she's feeling better."

Harry was relieved to hear that the subject wouldn't come up again, but he was intrigued by Luna's observation, and he continued, "It is funny, though, that you would say that about Lavender and me, because most other people think that I belong with Hermione, or even that we're already secretly together."

"You and Hermione? That's crazy," answered Luna, in her usual matter-of-fact way.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, because we feel the same way. But may I ask how you can see this, when nobody else can?"

"You and Hermione are a great team," said Luna. "You're very focused and serious, and of course we all know that you're best friends, but there isn't a glow between you. In matters of the heart, I always look for the glow." Then, nodding her head slightly toward the house, she continued in a lower and less serious voice, "But you and a certain other person do share a glow. And do you know what color it is? Something not very far from purple or violet ..."

Harry and Neville responded simultaneously, "Lavender?"

All three laughed, and Harry said, "I'll keep that in mind, Luna, and I'll be sure to tell Hermione what you said about the two of us. She'll be as pleased as I am to hear it!"

Lavender returned a short while later, using her wand to direct a steaming quiche through the air before her. She lowered it onto the table, sat at the fourth set place, and asked, "Is everybody ready?"

Harry was delighted by the selection, and he found that the hot, savory quiche, with its onions and green peppers, was a perfect complement to the fruit and muffins. Luna and Neville ate a bit, finished their coffee, thanked Lavender, and returned to the house with some of the dishes.

As Harry and Lavender continued their breakfast, Harry asked, "Lavender, I'm just wondering, does a quiche qualify as vegetarian?"

"A lot of people would say that it doesn't," she replied. "There are different kinds of vegetarianism, and I eat eggs and dairy, which some people don't. I've drifted around on that axis myself through the years. I never used to eat much meat anyway, but after the battle, when I finally recovered consciousness, I just didn't want to touch it at all."

"That's odd," said Harry. "I mean, Ron's brother Bill ... well, you know."

"Yes, people who have been attacked by werewolves in human form usually develop a craving for meat, and even begin to prefer it rare, but for some reason I went the other way. The Healers at St. Mungo's noticed that, and perhaps something will come of it."

After a while, Lavender said, "Neville and Luna are great teachers, and the children adore them. Some of the children have the idea that Neville protects them from snakes and other scary creatures, and they feel safe when he's around. And a few of them," she added with a conspiratorial smile, "seem to think that Luna is just another child, only larger than the rest of them. And sometimes I kind of agree." They both smiled at this apt description of Luna's childlike nature. Then Lavender continued, more soberly: "But both of them are absolutely serious and professional about their jobs here. And they both know what it's like to be teased and bullied, so they're good people to have in the classroom when those situations arise."

Harry nodded, recalling the taunting and ridicule that Luna and Neville had both endured at school. "And they're a really great couple," he said. "I think a lot of people saw it before they did."

"Like the way people talk about you and Hermione?" replied Lavender with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm just teasing. If you say it's not there, I believe you." And after a pause, "Well, I guess it's time for you to tell me whatever it is that you came to talk about. But before you begin, I just want to say that I recognize that shirt. It's Bruno's, and I guess that means that you talked with Parvati last night, and ended up sleeping over?"

"Yes, all true," said Harry. "Look, no secrets, no conspiracies, right? She wanted to tell me how you've been, without forcing you to listen to it all. I'm so sorry about the ordeal you went through."

Lavender nodded. "I don't mind that she told you about my experiences. One of these days, soon, I hope, I'll be in better shape, but I'm not there yet. And your own trials through the years have been pretty awful too. On top of everything else, sharing thoughts with Voldemort must have been hideous."

"Yes, it was, though like so many of the horrible parts, it actually helped us to defeat him. I'm just lucky that I had good friends through all those years. Just like you, right? Now, about that other thing. Parvati said she'd stop by at around one o'clock, and she thought you might want her to hear about it too. But we're not scheming behind your back. You should decide."

"No problem; we can wait for her. Let's clean this up, and I'll give you a tour of the garden."

They gathered the dishes and the remaining food, except for the coffee and three mugs. Leaving them on the table, they brought the rest back to the kitchen, where Harry washed while Lavender dried and returned things to their places. As they returned to the garden, through the school area at the rear of the house, they could hear Neville and Luna talking in one of the rooms.

"OK," Lavender began, as they re-entered the garden. "Now, you may have noticed that the garden is basically arranged as a three-by-three grid, very simple, with nine separate gardens, all of them about the same size. They connect every which way, and the fountain is in the middle section, with the formal perennial beds, so you can wander wherever you like, and always get back to the fountain pretty easily. I mean, I know that you won't get lost, but I've found that it's helpful to the children to hear about the fountain at the center, and we always remind them that when they return to the central garden, they just go up these three steps into the rose garden, and from there it's straight through to the house. We always have them meet at the fountain when they're done with projects and games out here. But we don't really leave them alone. We just tell them how to find their way back so they won't be afraid of getting lost."

Harry quietly observed how often Lavender referred to children's fears, and to her goal of allaying them, as she led Harry through four or five additional gardens, including a kitchen garden with vegetables and herbs, and a small arboretum with flowering trees, some of them now bearing ripening nuts and fruit. Somewhere along the tour, Lavender took hold of Harry's hand, and they walked hand in hand as she showed him around. Recalling how affectionate she'd been in school, and Parvati's description of her current situation, he knew that he should not get too close to her. But conspicuously letting go of her hand seemed worse than continuing to hold it, and perhaps, he thought, this was just her way of expressing trust and friendship. Leading him into a rather overgrown section, she continued, "... and this area is for the children. They have their own garden plots in here, and they plant what they like, but they haven't been here since June, so things are pretty wild now. In the fall we'll show them how to turn the soil to get ready for next spring."

Harry noticed that of the nine gardens, the one that was farthest to the right in the back row was completely enclosed by a brick wall, and that the connecting doors to that garden were closed. Lavender saw him glancing at one of the doors, and said, somewhat quietly, "That's my private garden. I keep one of the nine for myself."

Harry nodded, and they continued along, eventually returning to the central garden with the fountain. Lavender let go of Harry's hand, much to his secret relief, and with a wave of her wand she reheated the coffee in the jug, then poured another cup for each of them. They sat, with their backs to the house, and their talk soon turned to their days at Hogwarts.

After a pause in their conversation, Lavender said, "Harry, I've been enjoying getting to know you again, and there's something I want you to understand about how I used to behave back at school."

Harry replied, "Lav, I'm enjoying this too. But look, we were all nutty back then, just in different ways. You shouldn't feel like you have anything to explain."

"That's true, but it's more about sharing something that helps to explain who I was then, and what my little school is all about. You may know that both of my parents were from old families. Both of them can be traced pretty far back, and when Voldemort first arose, before you and I were born, he expected people from the older families to flock to him, along with the real aristocrats like the Blacks and the Lestranges and the Malfoys. But Mum and Dad wouldn't accept any of that pure bloodline crap, and they resisted joining up; and eventually, because of that, they came to be regarded as enemies. I think this happened to the Weasleys and some other families too. Even after Voldemort's apparent demise that first time," and here she glanced anxiously at Harry, "my parents feared that others who were still loyal to him might come after them."

Now she paused. She knew that in referring to the first apparent death of Voldemort she was also alluding to the night that he had killed Harry's parents in Godric's Hollow. He was looking off into the garden, and he turned towards her when she paused. She reached over, squeezed his hand, and said, "I'm sorry about mentioning that, Harry."

"It's OK," he replied.

Now Lavender continued with her narrative: "So we traveled a good deal when I was little, and I spent less time here than you might think. I loved it whenever we were at home, but after a while we always headed out again. They never told me why we traveled so much, and I guess I just took it in stride, but it's clear to me now that they were lying low, trying to keep me safe.

"When I was eleven, and it was time to go to Hogwarts, they felt that I would be safe under Professor Dumbledore's care. So they packed me off to school, and they went back into hiding again. I didn't exactly know what was going on, but by then I was old enough to realize that something wasn't right. I would send letters to them by owl, and I would hear back at irregular intervals, often indirectly, through friends of theirs, and it was sometimes obvious from what they wrote that they hadn't received all of my letters. So I had this vague feeling of being under some kind of a threatening cloud.

"During that time, I was trying to find something stable, or comforting, and you saw the result, which was me running after boys, flirting, giggling, sharing little secrets and conspiracies with Parvati and Padma. I was an insecure, flighty little thing. It's all so obvious now. And if I were to examine my thoughts now, I mean, as I saw things then, I think it would be that I had a fear, somewhere down deep, that I might never see my parents again. But I thought that if I had a boyfriend, not just a regular boyfriend, but some kind of passionate love of my life, I'd have someone to cling to when the worst happened. And then, in sixth year, we started hearing about people being attacked and killed in their homes. One of them was Susan Bones' Aunt Amelia, who was a good friend of my parents. Well, I just lost it, and that's when I went after poor Ron."

Harry smiled to himself to think of Lavender describing the object of her own adolescent advances as 'poor Ron,' but Lavender had had the same thought. She turned to Harry and smiled, and in an ironic tone he replied, "Yes, poor Ron," and they both laughed.

Lavender then continued, "I think that's also why I found the subject of Divination so appealing. Like if there was a way of knowing the worst before it actually happened, I might be prepared. And then it did happen, right before the battle, though I had no idea until later. Someone hunted down my parents, and ..." After a pause, she continued, "Did Parvati tell you about the night I opened my eyes and looked up at Padma?"

"Yes. I'm so sorry about that."

"Well, I'm weeping a bit now, thinking about it, but I'm OK. I've been through that chapter a lot of times." She dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief, and continued, "So I agree with what you said earlier, Harry, that we _were_ all young and silly, and dealing with things in our own ways. And that was mine."

"I had my own issues," said Harry, "and my own ways of dealing with similar things. During our first year at school I found a magical mirror that showed my parents as though they were still living, and I spent a lot of time just sitting and looking into it, until Professor Dumbledore moved it away. He said it was better that I not do that, but of course I didn't understand him at the time."

"I didn't know about that, Harry, but it does look like we had similar issues. Loss, fear of loss, you know, eventually it turns into confusion about why you're afraid, and that just becomes a bigger tangle. But I find it helpful to remember what I was like back then, because I see some of these behaviors in the children here at my school. Sometimes the ones who appear to be the most carefree are the ones with the biggest problems. They're living in a kind of giddy, alternative world that they've created, just as I did, but inside they're deeply sad, or fearful, and like me, they don't know why they feel that way. We have around forty children in the school, and it's a real struggle to get things right for each of them, but the alternative to trying to help them would be to ignore their problems, and just hope it all works out. And I can't do that."

"I don't know if this will make a difference to you, Lavender, but during our seventh year, when you and the others were at Hogwarts, and Ron and Hermione and I were out trying to find a way to destroy Voldemort, I had a lot of time to think about my years at school. There were long nights keeping watch, and I would think back to various events through the years. I was partly looking for clues about how to defeat him, and partly looking for things I could believe in. Sometimes I thought about the Sorting Hat, and how it could recognize traits in people. And I would think about the people I knew at school, including you. I remembered that you were the first from our year to be chosen for Gryffindor, and how all the other Gryffindors cheered when we were selected. I also remembered how quick you were to join Dumbledore's Army, and how dedicated you were when we trained. And sitting there in the dark, keeping watch, I would consider all of that, and think about how you must be a loyal and brave person, regardless of, you know, some of your other behavior. I mean, I thought about a lot of people, but among them I knew that you were on our side, and it meant a lot to me."

"It's nice of you to say that, Harry. And it's interesting that you would mention the Sorting Hat, because I used to think about it the same way. In the last few years at school, when I began to have glimmerings of why I behaved the way I did, I would sometimes ask myself who I really was, what my character was, and it helped me to think of that old hat. I could at least hope that if it really knew what it was doing, then maybe I was worthier than I thought I was. Those were the sorts of ideas that helped me to rise to the occasion when I knew that I had to be brave. Does that make sense to you?"

"Yes, it does," said Harry. "Sometimes you just need a bit of inspiration to help you be who you always were anyway. Maybe that sounds mental, but I guess I'm saying that if I know that someone else believes in me, then maybe I should too. Look, Lavender, I can see that you have a really strong sense of duty. It must take real devotion and patience to run this school. I don't know how you find enough love inside of you to care for all of these kids, but what you're doing here is really inspiring."

"Thanks, Harry, and I hope you won't mind if I disagree with you slightly. It's not like I'm trying to prove something, but I've actually thought about that word, 'love', and I feel that it's somewhat overused. If we say that we 'love' sweets, or quidditch, maybe no harm is done. But if I say that I love all of these children, some of whom I've only met recently, and some of whom are very troublesome, the word feels misused. Again, I'm not trying to argue with you, I just want to tell you what I've thought about when I ask myself why I'm doing this.

"I would personally reserve the word 'love' for our feelings toward our dearest friends and relatives, and for our ideals and our deepest beliefs about right and wrong. I think that I was most attracted to the idea of opening the school by a desire to do some good, to help these kids make it in the world. But some of them act out in all sorts of awful ways, even for a small child. They're often moody, disagreeable, petulant, hostile; they throw tantrums, and they hit the other kids, and they're so confused they don't even know why. It certainly doesn't make them feel any better. So when I think about my personal feelings towards them, honestly, it's not love that I feel. I feel pity, and empathy, and responsibility, as an adult who knows a few things that they don't, and I feel a desire to at least try to improve their lives, to lift them up a bit, to help repair the world. That's a phrase my parents used to use. It seems so wrong that these children should have been born into these difficulties. And I think I can do a better job at helping them if I frame it that way, rather than in terms of loving them. Anyway, I'm just trying to tell you how I see it, I'm not trying to lecture."

"No, I think I see what you're getting at. Trying to 'repair the world' - I like that idea - and trying to do a good job at what you've chosen to do, is a matter of responsibility and dedication. Maybe we should love the goal, which is a universal, and accept the children for who they are."

"Yes, something like that. And I should also tell you that another nice thing about having the school is the joy it brings to me, personally. I get to see these children enjoying the garden, just as I did when I was little, as part of their school experience. Sometimes I walk through the area, or just sit right here by the fountain, when there are two or three classes outside, playing games, or working on projects, and it makes me so happy to see and hear them chattering and running around. That's when they forget their problems for a while ..."

"Well, I hope to see the school some day when the children are here. But Lavender, can I ask you about something else?"

"Of course."

"It's about Parvati. Yesterday evening, at supper, she sounded pretty tough, but later, when I was at her place, afterward, she just broke down, crying and moaning and shaking, and I was really worried for her. I know that she's been taking care of you, but I think that she needs some help too."

"Yes, Harry, she does. Parvi has a lot of grief inside, and she doesn't like to admit it. Padma has been helping her along, and I've been trying to do the same. We comfort her, and help her get it out when she needs to. I guess she told you about Cho?" Harry nodded.

"Well, Parvati is very independent, and most of the time she pretends to be impervious to all of the grief, but Padma and I have seen what you saw last night, and we're trying to help her get through it. Have you ever heard of Survivor Guilt? It's a syndrome that some people develop, when others have suffered terribly and they haven't; they wonder why they've been spared, as though it's their fault that other people haven't. Parvi lived through all of the horror, and she saw so much more pain after the battle, but she and Padma and their parents came through it all without a scratch. And I think that it's a major burden for her, something that just bubbles up from time to time. I've been the one with the worst problems for a long time, but lately, things have been shifting about. And as I've recovered, I've finally gotten to a point where I can begin to help her. I suspect that the balance will continue to shift, and I hope that Padma and I can help her to get through this. But it will take time."

"So the patient has begun to care for the Healer?"

"Well, sometimes when you have a job to do ..."

"Lavender, I think I heard that line from Parvati last night."

"Yes, I stole it from her," Lavender replied with a smile. "Let's just say that the three of us, Padma, Parvati, and I, are all trying to take care of each other."

At this point they heard footsteps behind them, and they turned to see Parvati approaching. "Hey there, how's everyone?" she asked.

"Great," said Lavender. "We were just talking about our time back at school, things like that. And before you point out that my eyes are red, it's because I was telling Harry about my fears during childhood of losing my parents." Then, in a more cheerful voice, "But I'm fine now. Do you want some coffee?"

"Sure, thanks."

"And Parvi, just so you know, I noticed Bruno's shirt the minute that Harry walked in."

Parvati looked a bit guilty, but Harry spoke first, "It's alright, I think we all know that everyone here is looking out for everyone else, right?"

The other two nodded in agreement.

"Well," said Parvati, "I guess it's time to hear what Harry came to talk about. Unless you want to go it alone, Lav. I don't need to be involved in all of your business."

"It's OK, Parvi, I know why you're doing it, and I'm glad you are. But it won't be forever!" Lavender reached out and squeezed Parvati's hand, and Harry reflected with some relief that her habit of touching and holding hands was just part of her general way of interacting with people. So maybe it wasn't so bad that she had held his hand earlier.

Parvati and Lavender turned to Harry, and he began: "OK, I need to back up a bit, but it's important to me to say this first: I know that you two were roommates with Hermione, and that things weren't always perfect. So, speaking just for myself, I want to ask you to give her a chance. She's a really fine person, heroic even, but by nature she's very focused on whatever she's doing, and sometimes she can come off as distant. But it's because she's always thinking, processing things. It's just who she is."

Before Lavender could answer, Parvati spoke, "Harry, if either of us was the bad one, it was me. I know she's a good person, and I know that we were all young and stupid, and I'll be the first to greet her as a friend if you bring her around. And after all, it wasn't that bad. We mostly got along, we just weren't that close."

Lavender nodded in agreement.

"Great," Harry continued. "Because I really like the two of you, and it would be awful if old differences got in the way. OK, and now to the point," and here he looked at Lavender, and said, "Hermione would like you to participate in a spell-casting that she has been working on, and the first thing you need to know is that if you don't want to do it, that's fine. I know you've been under a lot of stress, and that you're still recovering, so if you just say 'no,' it's over."

Again, Lavender quietly nodded.

"Now, here's the situation ..." And Harry explained the purpose of the spell, and the delicate reasons, relating to her personality, that Lavender would be appropriate. He noted that Hermione had been working closely with Professor McGonagall on this, and that there was no physical danger, though there might be some emotional stress, since certain sensations would be drawn to the surface. And again, he reminded her that if it all seemed like too much, Lavender should just decline. But she was intrigued by the prospect that Hermione might find a way to be reunited with her parents. "Harry, I want to do it. This is a wonderful thing, and I would love to be part of it. If it brings out some stress and tears, well, I know that territory pretty well, and I'll manage. What do we do next?"

"I think that the next step should be to bring Hermione over here to give you the details," said Harry. "And I think that the spell-casting will take place at Hogwarts, in a week or two, and that it will involve maybe three or four days up there."

"That all sounds fine," said Lavender. Turning now to Parvati, she continued, "Isn't Bruno coming to visit on Thursday?" Parvati nodded. "So maybe Harry should bring Hermione over here on Thursday afternoon. We can talk about the plan, and then go and have supper somewhere with you guys." Turning to Harry, she continued, "You and Hermione can get to know Bruno, and I think we'll all have fun."

Parvati now said, "How about meeting for drinks, at five o'clock, at the Angry Boar, and then we can go to supper."

They settled on the plan, and continued with their coffee. And after a while, Harry departed, leaving Parvati and Lavender in the garden.


	5. Forgiveness, Wine, and Doubt

The next day, Harry arranged to meet Ginny in Green Park. He had been thinking about his relationship with her since Parvati had confronted him. Clearly, it was long past time to determine where things really stood between them. Harry arrived early, and was seated in a grassy area when Ginny approached.

"Hi, Harry, how are you?"

"OK, Gin. Thanks for coming."

They sat a while, not speaking, and Ginny soon grew restless. "Harry, was there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes. Sorry, I was thinking about how to start. Here it is: I've been realizing lately that my behavior has been terrible, for something like the past four years, and that you've had the worst of it. Everybody has accommodated me, as I stewed around and made no decisions. Maybe I had to go through that phase, maybe not. Or perhaps I've just gotten used to being moody and lethargic. Whatever it is, I know that I've had the benefit of the doubt for too long, and I don't want that anymore. I want to move on, to be a better person."

"Well, it's good for you to realize that, Harry. You know we're all on your side."

"But that's just part of it, Gin. Something happened the other day that shook me up. Somebody asked me if you and I were still together, and do you know what I said?"

"No," Ginny answered quietly, "what did you say?"

"I said something awful, something that nobody should ever say about a relationship. It was mean, and condescending, and I said it about you."

"What did you say, Harry?"

"This person asked me if you and I were still together, and I said, 'I guess.'"

"Maybe you were just being honest about how things are going with us."

"Or maybe I've become too used to the idea that you'll always be there, and you'll always accept me, whatever I do or say, and you'll always smile and forgive me, and be ready to move forward. Nobody should ever be treated that way!" Harry's voice had risen as he spoke, and by the time he finished, he was almost shouting.

"Well, then maybe you're finally working that out, and you won't behave like that anymore."

"See, Ginny, you're already starting to accept it. You shouldn't."

Now Ginny raised her voice, "OK, Harry, I get it. You did something wrong, and you feel guilty about it, and you want me to be angry at you. Will that help?"

Harry looked up, realizing what he was doing, and came to his senses immediately. "No, I don't want you to be angry with me. In fact, that would be just another way of making you carry the burden of my bad behavior, which is what I'm trying to apologize for. What I want to do is tell you how sorry I am, and that I will try to be better, that I _will_ be better, because you and everyone else deserve better."

He paused for a moment, and then continued, quietly and tentatively, "I also want to tell you that you shouldn't feel bound to stay with me just because we had a good relationship once, and you worry about me. I squandered it, and I'm sorry." When he was done speaking, he looked at the ground, ashamed of all he had done.

Ginny reached out and took one of his hands in hers. "Look up, Harry," she said. He didn't move. "Please look up, Harry." He raised his head and looked at her. "Harry Potter, you dear boy, I forgive you. Not because you haven't treated me badly at times, but because you apologized and you really meant it. Good people forgive good people, when they truly apologize and promise to change, and you are forgiven."

"Have I ever told you, Gin, that you're the nicest person I know?"

Ginny smiled and replied, "Maybe once or twice, but I don't mind hearing it again."

"And that makes it even worse. I didn't just behave badly, I did it to the nicest, sweetest person I've ever known."

"It's OK, Harry. I know you're sorry, and I do, sincerely, forgive you."

Still sitting beside each other on the grass, they now leaned back and lay beside each other. Harry reached for Ginny's hand, and they held hands as they watched the clouds drift by for a while.

Then Ginny spoke again, slowly and quietly, barely above a whisper. "Harry, I do forgive you, and I will be your friend forever. I knew you were a strong and good person, that you needed time, and that you would work things out one day." She paused, and then continued, tearfully, "In fact, I'll love you forever, but it won't be in the same way that it was before. The truth is that I just can't tell if we still belong together. Maybe we've reached the point where we should separate. Still friends, more than friends, but for now, friends who aren't in love. Maybe we'll get back together some day, after we see what things are like separately, but I feel that if we do, we should start over from the beginning, and see how things develop, rather than try to continue from where we are now. Can you understand that?"

"Yes, Gin." As he spoke these two words, Harry felt deep inside that it would not happen again with Ginny. Something was different now. And he also realized, from the way that Ginny had spoken, that she was ready to move on, and that the right thing for him to do was to let her go.

"Ginny, I think we both see what's happening, and I agree that it's necessary. You're a wonderful person. I've already said you're the nicest person I know, but that's such a simple little word, and it doesn't express what I'm trying to say. You always see the best in people, even when they're showing just a small glimmer of it, and you always treat them according to that better part. And it helps them to be better. Whatever happens from here on, I will always know that you are the one who got me through these past few years. I can never thank you enough for that, and I'll always love you for it. Maybe I helped you a bit, in the past, but I know I haven't been any good for you lately. I fell into bad habits, I stopped trying, and I am really sorry that I repaid all of your goodness with indecision and insensitivity. You deserved much better."

"It wasn't that bad, Harry. I always knew you were a good person, and that you've been through a lot of hard times, for just about your whole life. And before you kick yourself too hard, I want to remind you that you did help me, especially right after we lost Fred. You listened to me talk about him, and cry about losing him, for so long. Really, I've been more saddened to see you struggling, than hurt or bothered by anything you've done to me. Always friends, right?"

They lay there a few minutes longer, then stood up and embraced. After a minute, Ginny wiped her eyes, then smiled, and kissed Harry on the cheek. Then she turned, and walked away up the hill, as Harry watched her go.

0-0-0

The following day, Harry met Hermione for coffee. Sitting in a cafe, nibbling on bits of a scone, he told her about his breakup with Ginny. "It was a long time coming, and she was very good about it. She was better to me than I deserved. I'm sorry that I've been such a dead weight on you and Ginny and so many other people for so long."

Hermione took one of his hands in hers, and said, "But now, Harry, you really are moving on. Ginny will be fine. I know that. You should never forget how good she's been to you, but there's no reason to keep punishing yourself; now is the time to try to find what's next for you."

Harry nodded and thanked her. After a few moments of thought, as Hermione watched him silently, he brought up the subject of her planned spell, and Lavender's possible involvement. Harry explained that although Lavender had her own personal troubles, and was still recovering from the stresses of the past few years, she had expressed a genuine desire to participate in the spell-casting, but needed to know more about the details.

"Where does she live?"

"She has a house in north London, a pretty big place. She's converted part of it into a school for young children, and Luna and Neville teach there. Parvati lives a few blocks away, and has a bakery, and the two of them are still very close friends. Of course, you know that Lavender was injured really badly in the battle, just as we were running past her that night. But on top of that, her parents had been killed just before the battle, and Parvati has been helping her ever since, to get through it all."

Looking intently at Hermione, and considering what she might be thinking, Harry continued: "And they both want to see you, and they want to be friends. We're invited for supper with them and Parvati's boyfriend, after you meet first with Lavender. If you want to skip the supper, I guess you can, but I really think this is a good opportunity to mend things."

Hermione nodded slightly, and said, "I guess you're right. OK, let's do it, but I want you to be there when I meet them."

0-0-0

The next day, Harry and Hermione arrived at Lavender's home in the late afternoon. Lavender greeted Hermione warmly, and after a few minutes of friendly talk over tea and biscuits, the remaining tension seemed to have dissipated. Hermione privately reflected that it might be more difficult to mend bridges with Parvati, who had never been as open and easy-going as Lavender. On the other hand, it was Lavender who had pursued Ron back in their school days, and that had been the source of much of the friction between herself and the other two. So perhaps, if she and Lavender could patch things up, Parvati would accept it.

After a while, Lavender asked about the planned spell, and Hermione began to describe the procedures that she and Professor McGonagall had worked out, which included a few days of potion brewing before the night when they would cast the spell. As she related her plans, Harry listened quietly while Lavender asked occasional questions.

After Hermione was finished, the conversation drifted onto other subjects. There was an awkward moment when Ron's name came up, but Lavender and Hermione both seemed content to consider Lavender's past relationship with him as water under the bridge. Harry was relieved at this, and turning to Hermione, he said, "By the way, I finally found someone who believes that there's nothing between us." Hermione looked at Harry quizzically, and he continued, "Luna! She said, with absolute certainty, that you and I could never be a couple. I mentioned that everyone else thinks we are, or will be some day, and she dismissed the idea as ridiculous, not even worthy of consideration."

"I'll have to remember to thank her," said Hermione. "Although, before anyone takes offense, I have to say that it has never bothered me as much as it bothers you when people talk about us that way. A person could do a lot worse than you, Harry."

"And you know the feeling is mutual," he replied, smiling.

After a pause, he turned to Lavender, and continued: "And while we're on the subject of relationships, I want to tell you something, Lavender. Parvati really put me on the spot the other night, when I gave that lame answer to her question about me and Ginny. A couple of days ago I apologized to Ginny for, well, for a lot of things, including taking her for granted. We talked for a while, and in the end we decided that we should break up. It was a long time coming, and I was the cause of a lot of unhappiness on her part, so I know it was the right thing to do. And Parvati gets a lot of credit for helping me face up to that."

"Parvati does have a way of bringing things to the surface," said Lavender.

Hermione, listening quietly to the exchange, was having mixed reactions to this observation about Parvati. She was glad to know that Parvati had helped Harry to recognize his misbehavior, and to speak honestly to Ginny, but she was also wondering what Parvati might bring to the surface this evening.

The room was quiet for a few moments, as all three were lost in their thoughts. Then Lavender spoke: "Hermione, count me in. I would be honored to have a role in reuniting you with your parents, and I'm sure I can handle the emotional stress. Harry must have told you that I've been kind of weepy, but it's not debilitating. A year ago it would have been too much, but I'm a lot better now. I also like the idea that you've developed a new spell, and that I might help it to succeed."

"Thank you, Lavender," Hermione replied. "I really appreciate it."

0-0-0

About an hour later, after a brief tour of the school and gardens, the three of them walked over to the Angry Boar. As they entered, the proprietor, a middle-aged man named Alex, with a ruddy complexion and a blonde pony tail, greeted Lavender by name. She introduced him to Harry and Hermione, and they found their way to a table. "It's a nice neighborhood pub," said Lavender, "and I come here from time to time with Parvati and some other folks, so we know Alex and his wife pretty well. But watch out, she can be a bit snippy."

A few minutes later, Parvati entered with a tall young man about their age, whom Harry vaguely recognized from the year of the Triwizard Tournament as one of the exchange students from Beauxbatons. Parvati introduced him as Bruno, and there were greetings all around. As they settled in, Alex approached with a few copies of his wine list, and he greeted Parvati and Bruno by name. Speaking quietly, and glancing over his shoulder towards his wife, who was standing behind the bar, looking in their direction, he informed them that the drinks were complimentary. "Bruno has done a great favor for me, and it's a small thing for me to buy your drinks, any time you visit."

Bruno replied, "Alex, really, this is too much. I was happy to do that for you, as a personal favor, and I will only accept this round of drinks on one condition, which is that after tonight we are even. I insist on this." Alex acceded, but explained to the others, "He came in a few weeks ago to have a drink, while he waited for Parvati to close up the bakery, and we started talking. This isn't a wine bar, but sometimes people ask for something, and I've never known what to stock. And unlike all the other people who tell me I should carry more wines, Bruno wasn't trying to sell me something. So he picked out some wines for me, and suddenly people think I know what I'm doing! OK, you choose, and I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

All eyes now turned to Bruno, who said, "It's not a big deal, really. I suggested a small range of wines, just 20 different vintages, nothing really expensive, and I taught him a bit about how to handle the bottles, and which glasses to use, and that was it. There are some very nice wines out there at reasonable prices; you just have to know how to choose. So he printed up this list, and I told him I would suggest changes from time to time, and now both of us are happy. He has a new line to sell, and Parvati and I know that we can come in for a nice drink near her place."

Leaving the lists on the table, Bruno asked a few questions of each of the others, and helped them to choose wines that he thought they would like. A short while later, Alex returned, took their orders, and a few minutes later he brought their drinks. Lowering his voice again, he said, "And I have a small request; please don't tell my wife that I'm giving you these drinks. She still thinks that the wines are a bad investment for us, and she has never liked it when I give drinks away."

After he left, Hermione began to read through the list, and she commented approvingly: "I see that you have a lot of range here, and not just European wines."

Bruno replied, "As you must know, Hermione, there are many good wines from beyond Europe, and a lot of them are priced very reasonably. I look for wines that I like, wherever they come from. You know, there's an interesting little movie you might like, called _Bottle Shock_. It's about a wine snob, and I mean the worst of the worst, though the proper term, of course, is 'oenophile'. Well, he's a British man who lives in Paris, in the 1970s, and he has a wine shop that carries only the very best. He begins to think that there might be some good wines being made in California, so he goes there and visits several of the winemakers, and he finds some excellent vintages. He brings them back to France, holds a blind tasting with some of his fellow snobs - I mean oenophiles - and they love the wines. And in this way he helps to put California on the wine map, for people in Europe.

"A lot of the movie is fictional, but the basic story is true. And the main character in the movie, this snooty British man, he is delightfully awful, very funny. And he is played by a really fine actor, Alan Rickman - do you all know him? He offends the Californians every time he speaks, though he loves their wines. So yes, you should judge a wine by its qualities, not by where it came from. Just like people, you know?"

Parvati, sitting next to Bruno, put her arms around him at this point, kissed him on the cheek, and said, in mock schoolgirl fashion, "Isn't he just scrumptious?"

The group laughed, and Harry said to Parvati, "You know, that's exactly how I remember you and Lavender back in school!"

After another laugh, Lavender added, "Maybe that was the way we behaved, back then, but now it's too much! Parvi, you're embarrassing even me!"

"I'm not embarrassed," said Bruno. "I like this very much!" Again the group laughed, as he turned and kissed Parvati.

Hermione continued to read through the list, and as she reached the bottom of the page she saw that the final line read, "With thanks to Bruno Guerin." She looked up at Bruno, and asked, "Are you related to Professor Annette Guerin of Beauxbatons?"

"Oui, she is my mother," he replied.

Wide-eyed, Hermione continued, "Professor Guerin is your mother? She's _brilliant_!"

Bruno replied, with a smile, "Yes, I hear that said from time to time, and I have no reason to argue. But to me, she is simply 'Maman.'" Everyone at the table laughed approvingly, and Parvati took the opportunity to pull him towards her and kiss him again.

Harry, who had seen Parvati in distress recently, and knew something of the burdens she carried, smiled to himself to see her letting go a bit. She seemed a little less guarded tonight, a little more open to the world. Harry looked up, caught her eye, and nodded approvingly, and she smiled back at him. Then, glancing over to Lavender, Harry saw that she had observed this silent exchange. Looking directly at Harry, Lavender lifted her glass slightly, as if to make a silent toast to healing and happiness, and took a sip. Harry repeated the gesture and took a sip as well. All of this occurred in the course of a few seconds, unnoticed by Hermione and Bruno, who continued to speak.

Hermione, still looking at Bruno, asked, "So did you grow up at the school?"

"Yes, we lived in a house on the grounds of Beauxbatons. I have moved out, but my parents still live there."

Turning to the group, Hermione said, "This is going to sound nerdy, but I have to tell you all: There have been pensieves for a long time, but Bruno's mother built the first one that could hold memories that hadn't been collected directly from the people whose memories they were. And that was only possible because she had already demonstrated that memories live on in the natural world, on their own. Nobody knew that before. And if she hadn't discovered that, along with some other important properties of memories, Professor McGonagall and I never could have developed the spell that we'll be casting, which involves retrieving memories that have been dispersed by obliviation."

Bruno nodded in agreement, and said, "Very nicely described, Hermione. This is the sort of thing I have heard at the supper table all my life. It's fascinating, but I admit that a lot of it is beyond my understanding. Now let me tell you something, Hermione, which I hope does not cause you any embarrassment. My mother is a good friend of Professor McGonagall's, and she has heard of your plans. I told her that I might see you on this trip, and she asked me to tell you that she would like to meet you. You are invited to visit her at any time."

Hermione blushed. " _She_ wants to meet _me_? But I've wanted to meet _her_ for years!" Then she continued, "So did you know Professor McGonagall before you came to Hogwarts, the year of the Tournament?"

"Oh yes, she has visited us many times through the years, and in my home she is known as 'dear Minerva'."

This caused some nervous laughter at the table, and Parvati said, "Can you imagine one of us calling her that when we were at school? For the first four years I was so afraid of her that I couldn't look her in the eye. But after the battle at Hogwarts, when I was staying there with Padma and Lavender, I did see the other side of her, and she is truly gentle and kind."

Lavender reached across the table, took hold of Parvati's hand, smiled to her, and said to the group, "I wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for 'dear Minerva'. She never gave up on me, and neither did Parvati or Padma."

Bruno now turned to Hermione again, and asked, "Now, Hermione, I'm sorry to put you on the spot again, but is it true that you will be teaching at Hogwarts this autumn?"

All eyes turned to Hermione as she replied, "Well, we only worked it out recently, and I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but yes, they've asked me join the faculty, on a trial basis, and I'll be moving up there in time for classes. But I'm not the only one from our class; Padma will also be there, as a Healer."

And now they all turned to Parvati, who said, "Yes, and she's already moved in. One Gryffindor and one Ravenclaw from our class are now on the staff!"

At this point the group overheard a raised voice in the storage room behind the bar, someone apparently scolding another person. A moment later, Alex come scuttling out of the storage room and over to another table.

Harry spoke quietly to the others at his table: "I just had a thought. Parvati, didn't you say that you named your bakery after your pet name for Bruno?" He turned to Hermione, who didn't know the name of the shop, and said, "It's called Sweet Cakes," and everyone at the table laughed. Harry continued: "So I was just wondering if Alex might have done something similar. You know, maybe he named the Angry Boar for the woman he loves." At this, the group broke into peals of laughter.

Alex arrived at their table in the midst of their laughter, and asked, "Is everybody happy here?", and they all replied that everything was wonderful, as their laughter died down. "See the folks at that table?" he went on, "They think I'm a wine expert, and I owe it to you, Bruno. But now I realize that I really will have to learn something about wines. People ask questions!" And with a smile, he added, "I'm trapped!" The group laughed again, and began to gather their things in preparation to leave. Calling their thanks and goodbyes to Alex, they departed.

Once out on the street, Parvati pointed to the left and said, "The restaurant is a few blocks this way." As she and Lavender turned to walk off down the street, Lavender took hold of Hermione's arm and pulled her along with them, while Harry and Bruno fell in step a short distance behind them.

As they walked, Bruno turned to Harry and said, "In case you were going to ask, it's all true. My mother has known about Hermione for several years, through discussions with Minerva McGonagall, but word of this spell she is attempting made her determined to meet this prodigy. I didn't want to make too much of it this evening, but I suppose you know that people are watching her, and expecting great things." Harry nodded, and Bruno continued: "And I have another little item for you, but you must not tell anyone, OK? Not long ago, when Professor McGonagall was visiting, she was talking with my parents in another room, and I overheard her say that she would not be surprised if Hermione became headmistress at Hogwarts one day. I was not spying on them, just reading in the next room, when I heard it. But please do not repeat this."

"I'm really glad to hear that," said Harry, "but I'm really not surprised. "She was tops in the class right from the start, but it's more than that. She's as brave and dedicated as a person can be, and she's always devoted herself to fixing things that weren't right. Ron and I never would have been able to deal with Voldemort if she hadn't been there, every step of the way."

"I can see that you really admire her. But Parvati now tells me that all of these stories are nonsense, about you and Hermione being a couple?"

"Well, that's the strange thing. If you can trust me with a secret, I guess I can trust you with one. There really has never been anything between us." And then, lowering his voice, he continued, "But that's not the secret; that's the simple truth. In confidence, though, I'll tell you that I do sometimes wonder. That's all, I wonder. If everyone else sees something, I sometimes ask myself if it might actually be real, and we're the ones who are missing it."

"This has been known to happen. Two people are perfect for each other, but they are the only ones who don't see it."

"Well, as I say, I have wondered about that. I'm not saying that my feelings toward her have changed, but lately I have begun to question a lot of things that I hadn't before, and that's one of them."

Ahead of them, Lavender, Parvati, and Hermione had been walking together. During a pause in their conversation, Lavender said, "I need to tell the guys something about the place we're going; you two go ahead." She dropped behind, and joined Bruno and Harry. Speaking to them in a low tone, she said, "Please don't accuse me of manipulation, but I think that Hermione and Parvati need to get reacquainted."

Meanwhile, Parvati and Hermione walked along together, each of them privately perceiving exactly why Lavender had thrown them together this way, and also wondering how things might work out between them. Parvati spoke first, somewhat tentatively, "Hermione, we're all really proud of the work you're doing. And I'm sure you'll be super at Hogwarts."

"Thanks. And I must say, from what Harry has told me, that you've been an incredible friend to Lavender."

"Did he tell you about all of my crying and moaning the other night?"

"No, he just told me about how awful her situation was, how long it took for her to recover, and that you stayed by her side while she was at Hogwarts, and then cared for her at her home afterwards."

"Well, she was in a really bad state. We're just lucky we had 'dear Minerva', and Madam Pomfrey, and the others, plus all of the potions that Professor Snape had made, and the manuscript he had been writing."

"Yes, that's all true, Parvati, but none of it diminishes your role. Friends like that are the greatest treasure a person can have."

Now Parvati stopped, turned, and hugged Hermione warmly, and Hermione responded in kind. Behind them, Lavender held out her arms to slow Harry and Bruno, and the three of them exchanged smiles.

As everyone resumed walking, Parvati said, "I've been wondering if you'd like any help with your spell from me or Padma. I could travel up to Hogwarts with Lavender, and Padma is already there."

"Yes, you two would be great. We need a few more people to participate when we cast the spell, and I'd love to have both of you there." Here she paused, then continued, "And Parvati, I hope that things will go better for you and me from now on. I'm sorry that we had our differences back in school."

"I feel the same. I always knew you were the best, Hermione, and I'm glad to be back on an even keel with you. And now that we're pals again, may I ask a personal question about you and Harry? Or do you get too much of that?"

"Oh, it's no big deal. A lot of people think that we're fated to end up together. It bothers Harry more than me, maybe because he feels like people are telling him that he should shove Ron out of the way to be with me. Anyway, neither of us sees it."

"So there's nothing at all to the stories?"

"Not a thing, though I do wonder, occasionally, if it's one of those situations where Harry and I are the only people, well, apart from Luna, who fail to see something that's right there in front of us. But don't read too much into that; I'm just saying that at times I ask myself that question."

"Things like that have been known to happen," answered Parvati.

And the group continued on towards supper.


	6. The Spell

Several days later, Harry, Hermione, Lavender, Parvati, and Ginny traveled to Hogwarts. Hermione headed down to the potions lab to begin her preparations. The others offered to help, but the procedures she had in mind were quite exacting, and she was content to work alone. This left the rest of the group, along with Padma, who was already in residence, free to wander the grounds, reacquaint themselves with faculty members, and generally relax. There were only a few other visitors present, mostly experts in various magical disciplines who were there to consult with the professors, so the Great Hall was nearly empty, even at meal times. It was late summer, and there was time for long discussions and reminiscences over meals, rambles through the grounds and into Hogsmeade, and desultory visits with Hagrid and others.

But Harry felt restless. As he had lately been realizing, with some discomfort, everyone he knew seemed to have goals. At Hogwarts, Hermione was busy, while the others were enjoying a short break from their regular activities, but he was simply being idle in a different location.

After lunch, on the day that the spell was to be cast, Harry went for a walk alone, and he soon found himself in a spot he'd always liked, under a tree that overlooked the lake. That night they would complete the spell, and sometime afterward he and Hermione would travel to Australia to meet with her parents. If all went well, they would return shortly after that. And then what? As he'd guessed when Hermione had first described her plans, he would be playing the boyfriend in Melbourne. He knew that Hermione would never scheme about such things, but he wondered if she was unconsciously testing the waters with him by casting him in that role. And perhaps, despite their mutual protestations, they might be perfect for each other. Could it really be possible for everybody but themselves to see this?

But Harry had other concerns. He really wasn't looking for a new relationship at this point, with Hermione or with anybody else. He and Ginny had separated only recently, and he felt that it would be best to spend some time alone. What really bothered him was his lack of direction, and perhaps he could use some private time to refocus. And even if he and Hermione were somehow on the path to being a couple, she would be busy. She had goals and interests, she was always working on something, and in a few weeks she would be teaching here at Hogwarts.

Harry realized that it didn't help to punish himself too severely for his lack of focus. The past several years had been traumatic for many people, including himself. Through all of his time at Hogwarts, and during the search for the horcruxes, and the final destruction of Voldemort, he had been in a nearly constant state of stress. That was a simple fact. He knew it, and his friends knew it. So he really had needed time to recover. But as he'd already told some of the others, he now realized that the time had come to move on. But what, exactly, lay beyond?

As he considered these questions, Harry heard voices approaching, and the rustling of leaves. Looking up, he saw Parvati and Padma walking through the woods. He raised his hand to catch their attention, and they walked over and sat down with him.

Harry asked, "So how are things back at the castle?"

"Pretty quiet," replied Padma. "Hermione is finishing up in the dungeon, and the others are sitting around in the Great Hall. I've taken the day off, and we decided to get outside and enjoy the day."

"It's really nice to see the place when things are so quiet," said Harry. "They've done a great job repairing the damage from the battle." After a few moments he continued: "Padma, I heard from Parvati and Lavender about what you did after the battle, about how you found a calling. Was that ever your plan?"

"No. I never really thought about becoming a Healer until the battle ended, and I saw all those people in pain. It just came to me. At school they tell us to think about our careers, and they try to determine what our talents are, and ask us what we'd like to do. But for me, it just clicked that day. And now, the more I learn about healing, the more I want to know. There are a lot of potions and spells for physical ailments, but I find myself being drawn a lot to the psychological angle. Why do some people rise to a challenge, and others just feel defeated? How do you help a child who's unhappy, but has no idea what's wrong? So I look around, and I read, and I try to figure out what other people know, and soon I begin to have a few ideas, and I wonder if they've occurred to anyone else, and that brings me back to the library. Maybe there aren't any good answers beyond a certain point, but I want to know if that's really true."

Now Harry turned to Parvati, and asked, "How about you, Parvati? How did you get into baking?"

"Well, I traveled in France with Bruno, and wherever we went there were incredible baked goods, from the croissants to the baguettes to those lovely fruit pastries. And I began to wonder how they did it, how they could obtain so many textures and flavors from the same basic ingredients. So I took a couple of classes, and I learned a few things. Of course, anything I made was nothing, compared to what Bruno was used to. But it was like what Padma just said. Either I was going to feel defeated or I was going to rise to the challenge. So I kept at it, and what helped to motivate me was this idea that I might reach a point some day where the basics came naturally, and I could begin to find ways to express myself.

"And I didn't want to be a French baker; I wanted to be my own kind of baker. So once I had the shop up and running, I started introducing flavors that were a little more British, and South Asian, the kinds of things that I'd grown up with. I have a cardamom and orange cake at my shop, cookies made with charoli, things like that, and some of the regular customers seem to go for them. I also make a lot of very conventional items, and they help to keep the business going, but I also experiment with other ingredients and flavors, and if a few of the regulars get into it, I feel like I can keep trying other things along those lines."

Harry had no idea what charoli was, but setting that matter aside, he considered what he'd just heard. There didn't seem to be much in common between the two stories, but he felt encouraged. Maybe you stumble upon something that's just right, or maybe you ask yourself what you'd like to find, and you actively seek it.

Now it was past noon, and the three of them began to amble back towards the castle. With the appointed time of the spell-casting approaching, there was a growing sense of anticipation, along with a few fears about the consequences, should the spell not come off properly.

0-0-0

After supper, the group met in the Great Hall, and then proceeded to the site of the spell-casting, an open area not far from the castle. In addition to Hermione, Ginny, and Lavender, who had the main responsibilities, there were three other women for the outer circle, Professor McGonagall and the Patil twins, and three men, Harry, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Slughorn.

It was a clear night, and the moon would not be rising until after midnight, so the group brought several torches with them to the site. Once arrived, they lighted the torches and set them in a circle around them, and then the three principals to the spell gathered around a small table at the center. Hermione removed five stoppered bottles from her bag, and placed them on the table. Harry noted that there seemed to be an element of numerology involved: One spell to complete, three principals, five potions, and nine witches and wizards in total.

What followed was a complicated series of steps, mostly involving the three young witches at the center of the circle. Hermione cast several spells, variously on one or another of the potion bottles, on herself and her companions, or into the sky, while calling out curious incantations. Ginny and Lavender also cast spells, according to Hermione's instructions, and all three, at intervals, drank from the various potion bottles.

For the first hour, the six individuals in the outer circle were merely observers, but the culmination of the evening arrived with a call for each of the nine who were present to produce a patronus. Nine silvery animal images rose from their wands and assembled in a circle, 30 or so feet above the group. Under the direction of nine wands, the patronuses ran about in a circle of gradually decreasing diameter, and soon merged into a single sphere of silvery light, which rose another 20 feet. As it hovered there, threadlike beams that looked like the light of individual stars began to arc down from the sky into the sphere, a few at a time initially, then in increasing numbers, until many thousands of them had converged at that point. These, Harry thought, must be traces of the bits of memory that were being gathered from nature, that had remained in existence, even after obliviation, as Hermione had described.

After several minutes, the light beams from above merged into the silvery sphere of light. A few straggling threads of light continued to appear for another few minutes, and they too were soon absorbed by the sphere. On a cue from Hermione, after a nod from Professor McGonagall, all nine witches and wizards directed their wands gradually downward, drawing the shimmering ball of light into a small flask that Hermione held above her head. Now she stood, with both arms upright; in one hand she held her wand, and in the other she held the flask, its contents shining brightly. All eyes were on her as she beamed happily. She pushed a stopper into the mouth of the flask, and called out, joyfully, "Thank you, everybody!"

The three young witches at the center of the circle smiled broadly as the six others approached to offer their congratulations, and for several minutes the group chattered, hugged, kissed, and smiled, with nobody, apparently, wishing to call an end to the proceedings.

However, Professor McGonagall soon announced that the three young witches who had carried most of the burden that evening were deeply fatigued, and must go to bed. The group then walked slowly back to the castle, with Professors Flitwick and Slughorn leading the way, while Harry helped Ginny along. Parvati and Padma assisted Lavender, and Professor McGonagall and Hermione took up the rear. Harry glanced back a time or two, and saw the Professor and Hermione talking excitedly as they walked. Once inside the castle, the three professors separated from the group and returned to their chambers. Although Padma now had her own living quarters elsewhere in the castle, she returned with the five Gryffindors to their familiar Common Room. Harry wished the ladies pleasant dreams, and climbed the stairs to the boys' dormitory, while the others proceeded to the girls' rooms. Shortly later, all of them were sleeping soundly.


	7. Who Will Be Hurt?

Harry arose early the next morning, well rested and hungry. As he entered the Great Hall for breakfast, he saw Padma eating at the Ravenclaw table, which was otherwise empty, and he walked over and sat across from her.

"Still eating at the student table, Padma? Aren't you on the staff now?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," she replied with a smile, "but for old time's sake I sometimes like to think of myself as a carefree Ravenclaw kid again." She then informed Harry that she had checked on Hermione, Lavender, and Ginny at intervals during the night, and that they were exhausted from last night's efforts, but healthy, and actually glowing a bit. "Professor McGonagall told me to expect that, as a kind of afterglow from all of the energy that was moving through them last night. They're fine, but I think they'll sleep into the afternoon. And Parvati will probably sleep for a while longer too. When she gets away from the bakery she seems to have to catch up."

"It was quite an event," said Harry. "I'm glad to have been part of it."

"Same here," Padma replied. "Let's hope it works." After a moment she continued, "And I suppose that you'll be off to Australia soon with Hermione, right?" Harry nodded. "Bring her back safely; we need her here for the coming year."

Harry smiled and nodded again, and then added, in a serious tone, "So I hear that you're working on finding ways to help the kids handle the stresses of the war."

"Yes, I've been talking with Headmistress McGonagall about mental health issues, in general. Of course, I'll mainly be helping Madam Pomfrey with the usual poisonings, quidditch injuries, basilisk petrifications, and half-cat transformations," she added with a smile. "But maybe, with you and Ron out of here, there won't be quite as much to do in that department. Unless Hermione continues to find new ways to be injured, even as a staff member."

"Yeah," said Harry, "I guess we kind of maxed out our health benefits. But all in a good cause."

Padma smiled, and then continued, "You know, Harry, one of the things that helped convince Professor McGonagall of the need for more attention to mental health has been what she's seen when she visits Lavender's school. She's drops by the primary schools, to talk to the children about life at Hogwarts, and she observes classes, and playtime, so she has seen the problems that the children are dealing with. You and I lived through those years, and at least we have something to process, but these kids have no idea about what happened. All they know is that their parents went nuts one day, or in some cases disappeared entirely."

"Well, with Lavender's work at her school, and yours here, and other good people taking care, maybe this generation will find a way to get past all of that."

"I certainly hope so," said Padma, as she stood up to leave. "And I have some work to do now, so I'll see you later."

Harry glanced toward the head table, and saw a few professors and guests eating and talking among themselves, Professor McGonagall among them. She caught his eye and signaled for him to approach. As he did so, wishing a good morning to her and the others, she said to him, "Good morning, Mr. Potter. I'm glad to see you up this early. I will be in my office for the rest of the morning, and I would be pleased if you stopped by to see me, any time after ten."

"Yes, Professor, I'll be glad to," he answered, while wondering if this was to be a significant conversation, or just a friendly chat.

As he returned to his seat at the Ravenclaw table, Harry saw Parvati enter the hall from the other end. They waved, and she walked over and sat with him. They began to eat, and talk about the activities of the previous evening.

After a while, Parvati said, "Harry, there's something I want to tell you. You made a promise to me, that you would avoid any personal entanglements with Lavender, and I want to thank you for keeping that promise. I don't know if it changes anything for me to say this, but I've decided to release you from that promise. If you you want to hang around with her, and maybe get friendlier, you don't owe me any explanations. It's been a long road back for her, but I think she's about ready to handle things herself, and I trust you to be a gentleman. And by that, what I mean is that I trust you to treat her gently, whatever might come." Then she smiled slightly, and continued, "But you're about to head off to Australia with the lovely and talented Miss Granger, aren't you?"

"You know, Parvati, you always find a way to me on the spot. So to answer your implied question, no, I still have no romantic interest in my dear friend Hermione. And it's not that I'm being noble on account of Ron. I really have no idea if the two of them are going to work things out, but that's up to them. I'm simply saying that she's a great friend, and someone I love like a sister or a cousin, full stop. Nobody seems to believe me, but there it is."

"And how does she feel about you?"

Harry smiled, shrugged, and said, "The same, I think, but can anyone really know what another person is feeling? I suppose you realize that Hermione is more of a puzzle than most people, probably even to herself. So it's possible that she's confused about me sometimes, but I really don't know. And in case you're wondering, I do ask myself from time to time whether everyone else might be right about the two of us, and that we're the only ones who don't see it. But I don't think so."

Now Harry looked around to be sure that nobody else was near, and continued, in a low voice: "And I do appreciate your release from the promise I made about Lavender, but I don't see myself getting any closer to her. And just between you and me, yes, of course I like Lavender. She's a really kind person; I always knew that, and so did everyone else. But on top of that, I've also come to see that she has strong convictions about improving things in the world, and that she's actually doing something to make that happen. And I've seen how serious, and thoughtful, and reflective she is. Put all of that together, and you have one of the best people I know. And then, when I think about the horrible things that she's been through, I really feel for her, and I can't help but hope that things will improve for her.

"But there's the rub, that I want things to be better for her. I'm afraid that any attraction that I might feel for her, beyond admiration and sympathy, wouldn't be based on anything more than our shared pitifulness. Suppose, just for a minute, that I did have other feelings for her. Now, can two train wrecks like ourselves find happiness? And if they can't, if a relationship like that is doomed to putter along for a while, and then collapse, or explode, who's going to be hurt? I think we both know the answer. And what would it say about me if I understood that today, but I still allowed myself to start something with her? I would be just like those fathers you told me about, hanging around at her place, indulging myself with sad monologues about how miserable I am, becoming emotionally attached to her, and watching as her sympathetic nature got her to believe that maybe she wanted to be attached to me. And then, one day, we'd realize that all we really had was some kind of pathetic mutual dependency, and we'd break up, and the end product would be that she'd be more unhappy than she is now. I can't do that to her."

Parvati looked closely at Harry for a few moments, and then answered, "That was quite a speech, Harry. You really have discovered what a good person she is, maybe a bit later than you should have, but you see it now. But you also seem to be afraid that if you touch her she'll break, like a fragile item in a shop. And I guess I can't blame you for thinking that way, since it's more or less what I've been telling you. But lately, I've seen her getting stronger, more assertive, and I've begun to think that too much caution can be dangerous in its own way. Maybe we're both a little bit wrong about Lavender; maybe she's about ready to take care of herself again.

"Anyway, everything you just said, that's exactly why I trust you. If you care that much about not hurting her, I know you'll behave properly if you do find yourself sitting in her parlor some day, sipping tea, looking dreamily into her eyes, and starting to get ideas. And I might as well take this opportunity to tell you once more that I'm sorry I ever mistrusted you. You really are a gentleman." And with a smile she added, "Or at least you do a pretty good imitation of one."

Harry returned the smile, and said, "Thanks, Parv. You know I always enjoy talking with you, because I get to hear that I'm half trusted, and almost half believed. And who can ask for more than that? But right now I'm supposed to have a talk with Professor McGonagall, so I'll have to catch up with you later." Harry hugged Parvati, then rose and left the hall.


	8. Advice from Peter Rabbit

"Please come in," said Professor McGonagall, in answer to Harry's knock at the door. As headmistress, she now occupied the office that Harry had always known as Professor Dumbledore's. As he entered, Harry noted the portrait of Professor Dumbledore among those of other past headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts, and was pleased to see Dumbledore's portrait wink at him.

Professor McGonagall said, "Thank you for stopping by, Mr. Potter. Now, I don't want to pry into your personal life against your wishes, but as your former professor, I have some concerns. If you will allow me, I would like to talk with you about your future."

"Yes, Professor, I'd be glad to. I have been drifting for a while, and I know it ..."

"On the positive side, you seem to have a number of good friends, including some of the young ladies who are here now."

"Yes, I'm lucky in having some very good friends, and in case you're wondering, I do have male friends too."

"I'm glad to hear that. Now, with regard to your various friendships, I am wondering if you may have created some asymmetric relationships."

"Asymmetric?"

"Dependencies, Mr. Potter. We all rely on our friends, but it is not healthy when one person becomes too reliant on another, without need, that is."

"Yes, I see what you mean. But if a person is having a difficult time, going through a bad period, isn't a certain amount of dependency acceptable? Parvati has been helping Lavender since the time of the battle, and I think that both of them understand and accept their situation."

"Yes, both Miss Parvati and Miss Padma Patil have been extremely attentive to Miss Brown. I am aware, as you indicate, that Miss Parvati continues to provide considerable assistance to Miss Brown even now, which is an admirable development in their long and close friendship. Miss Parvati has shown herself to be the best sort of friend. But it is important to note that Miss Brown has been in a truly helpless state, and that she is currently doing all that she can to become independent again. Mr. Potter, are you familiar with the story of Peter Rabbit?"

"Yes, Professor, I am. When I was young, I read all of the Beatrix Potter stories. Since I had the same name, I sometimes imagined that she was a secret aunt of mine, and that one day I would run away from the Dursleys, and go to live with her. In the story of Peter Rabbit, young Peter disobeys his mother, and strays into Mr. McGregor's garden, looking for vegetables. And he is nearly caught and put in a stew."

"Quite right. And do you recall what the sparrows said to Peter Rabbit when they saw him, caught in the gooseberry net, with Mr. McGregor approaching?"

"No, I don't," replied Harry.

Professor McGonagall lifted a small book from her desk, and held it out to Harry, saying, "I happen to have a copy of the book here, and I wonder if you would mind reading the selected page."

Harry opened the tiny book to the bookmark. The illustration depicted Peter, entangled in the net by the buttons on his coat, with three sparrows on the ground before him. He read, "Peter gave himself up for lost, and shed big tears; but his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who flew to him in great excitement, and implored him to exert himself."

"Is my meaning clear?"

"Yes, Professor, quite clear, and I agree. The time has come for me to exert myself. I actually believe that I'm at the end of a bad phase, and I have been exerting myself lately ... but I know that I could do more."

"Very well, Mr. Potter. You know, it may not seem so when you're in school, but every good teacher loathes the adversarial relationship that so often seems to exist between instructors and students. We want all of you to succeed, to find happiness in your lives. Unfortunately, teachers sometimes forget this, and some students don't see it at all, even in the teachers who care about them the most. It's tragic, really."

"Yes, Professor, it is. But I should also point out that it's confusing to be a child. Children don't understand very much, and they misinterpret half of what they think they understand ... and some teachers are not as sympathetic as they should be."

Professor McGonagall nodded in agreement, and replied, "Very true; it's a struggle on both sides."

Both were quiet for a moment, and then Harry spoke, "Professor, I've heard that you have visited Lavender Brown's school."

"Yes, I have, several times, and it is a lovely place. She is doing wonderful things with those children, and if I may say so, you are quite lucky to have her as a friend."

"I agree. She's a really fine person. I haven't seen her school when classes are in session, but I've looked around during the summer, and spoken to her about it, and it's really impressive. I'm hoping to visit again this autumn, when the children are present. So, was that all?"

"No. There are two other points I'd like to discuss, if you are willing."

"I'm quite willing. It really is an honor for me to hear your opinion on any subject; if I didn't realize that in the past, I certainly do now."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter, I appreciate that. Now, one point concerns your forthcoming travels with Miss Granger. I want to be sure that you understand that she is currently in a rather vulnerable state. On the surface she is elated, because she may finally be reunited with her parents. And at this point all indications are positive, in terms of the likelihood of success of this endeavor, but we do not know for certain that the potions will be effective. Ultimately, they may be only partially so, and the results of a partial success may not be very pleasant. I hope you will be supportive of her during this time, and ... ," she trailed off.

"And you hope that I won't take advantage of her in this vulnerable state?" Professor McGonagall did not answer; she simply looked closely at Harry as he continued: "Professor, many people seem to believe that I have what you might call romantic inclinations towards Hermione. I am asked about this frequently. But it isn't so. I've lived through a lot with her, particularly when we were hunting for those horcruxes, and there were times when, well, things might have happened if we had been so inclined. But they never did. The truth is that we are simply friends - great friends, in fact - and fellow veterans of the war against Voldemort. I will always do whatever I can to help her and protect her, and I know that she would do the same for me, but that's the extent of our relationship."

"So the two of you have been the victims of unfounded rumors?"

"Very much so, for a long time."

"Thank you. I know that you are an honorable young man, and I feel comfortable having this discussion with you. Now, there was one more thing, and that is simply that I hope you will continue to search for a calling, and I want you to know that I will always be here if you have any questions along that line."

"Professor, I really am starting to come around, and lately I've begun to understand a few things that I hadn't before. I don't know if you're familiar with Muggle television and cinema, but I grew up with them, and one of the things I've lately realized is that most of what they present about how people find happiness is just plain wrong. There always seems to be a person who is unhappy, or conflicted in some way, until something dramatic and unexpected occurs. Suddenly, the perfect person walks in, and after some predictable difficulties, they find love, or fulfillment, or whatever it was that they needed.

"But I've been observing my friends, and I see the opposite. The ones who are happy and fulfilled are those who have gone out and done things that are creative, like Ginny Weasley, or that help others, like Padma and Lavender. Those people seem to foster the right habits and circumstances in their lives, and that helps them to develop the confidence and self-esteem that allow them to find happiness."

"I am delighted to hear you say this. Yes, I do enjoy Muggle entertainment from time to time, and I thoroughly agree with your assessment of its typical failings."

"Thank you, Professor. But having said that, I should mention that they're not always wrong. There was a TV series a few years back, called something-or-other Abbey, about an Earl and his family in their Yorkshire estate, in the early decades of the twentieth century. There were three adult daughters, with rather different personalities, and the middle daughter was in some ways the most interesting one. She was often overlooked, generally unhappy, and sometimes self-destructive, even to the point of throwing herself in desperation at the wrong suitors, but she finally found a life for herself towards the end of the series. She inherited a magazine, and rather than sell it, or hand it off to a professional editor to manage, she decided to move to London and run it herself. She went out into the world, took charge of her affairs, and things began to improve for her. You might say that she exerted herself.

"And there were some other interesting characters in the series. One aspect I liked was the relationship between the Earl and his mother. She often seemed to be stodgy and distant and judgmental, but sometimes, when difficult situations arose, and everyone else was floundering, she could see what had to be done, and she stepped in and helped to work things out. And that character, the Earl's mother, was played by a really fine actress, Maggie Smith. Someone with real gravitas. You might enjoy that series, Professor."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter, perhaps I will look into it. Well, we've covered some important ground today, and I am pleased to have had this conversation, but I have a good deal of work to do right now. The students will be arriving in just a few weeks."

"Thank you again, Professor." Harry stood up to leave, walked toward the door, then paused and turned, and with a smile he said, "I'm just wondering, Professor, if it's possible that the McGonagalls are related to the McGregors?"

Smiling in return, Professor McGonagall replied, in an exaggerated Scottish accent, "Yes, Mr. Potter, the McGonagalls and the McGregors may well be related, but I would remind you that in the present circumstance I am attempting to help the rabbit, not the gardener." Both of them laughed, and Harry bade her goodbye, and departed.

He headed downstairs, intending to get outside and think about his situation and his plans. However, as he passed by the entrance to the Great Hall he glanced in and saw Lavender sitting alone at the Gryffindor table, eating breakfast. He walked in, and coming up beside her he asked, "May I join you, Lavender?"

"Yes, of course," she said, and Harry walked around to the other side of the table and seated himself opposite her.

Harry began, "Are Ginny and Hermione still sleeping?"

"Yes, they're completely conked out. I've always been an early riser, but I guess it's all relative after a night like that. I only woke up a short time ago."

"And are you having any of the emotional stresses that they had warned you about?"

"Thanks for asking, Harry. Actually, not as much as I expected. I'm a little tired, physically, but I think that my exhilaration from last night's experience has outweighed the emotional stress. In fact, I feel like I'm finally getting out of the woods, in terms of my longer-term problems. For the last few weeks I've been feeling better than before, like I'm becoming my old self again, and last night's events seem to have helped burn off the last bits of the bad stuff."

"That's tremendous! So you think that you're really completely back?"

"Well, I still have all my memories of the bad times," she answered soberly, "but they feel like memories now, not like a walking nightmare. That's a big improvement. And how are you today?"

"I just had a rather strange chat with Professor McGonagall."

Lavender looked up, smiled knowingly, and asked, "And could it possibly have involved a rabbit by the name of Peter?"

Harry looked at her wonderingly, and replied, "Is my life really an open book?"

"Yes," she answered with a smile, "a Beatrix Potter book!"

Lavender reached across the table, took one of Harry's hands in hers, and began to trace the back of it with a fingertip as she spoke. "Remember, Harry, after the battle I was recovering here for months, and I was conscious for the last part of it. Professor McGonagall came by from time to time and talked with me about a lot of things, trying to cheer me up and inspire me to try to move on. One time she mentioned Peter Rabbit and his difficulties, and how the sparrows encouraged him to escape. And yesterday, when I visited her in her office, I saw the book on her desk. So I thought that she might have mentioned it to you. Especially as your name happens to be Potter. And what are your plans now, Harry?"

"My plans? I'm going to exert myself. Everyone else sees my problem, and I see it, so I guess it's about time for me to do something about it."

"I'm very glad to hear that. And how about your plans with Hermione."

Harry decided to interpret the question as a simple inquiry into his role in helping Hermione reunite with her parents, rather than another version of the question he'd heard so frequently about his personal relationship with her. "Well, she's off to Australia sometime soon, and I'm going to follow a few days later. She thinks it'll take a week or so until we're sure that the potions have worked, and then I can leave her to finish sorting things out with her Mum and Dad. I guess they'll need to catch up on things, and then decide what to do next. And Hermione will be teaching here in a few weeks, but maybe if she's delayed she'll start the school year a bit late."

"Late? Hermione?" asked Lavender with a smile. "Do you mean like all of those assignments that she used to turn in late when we were in school? I don't think so."

"You're right," Harry replied, "tardiness is not her style. Well, assuming that nothing goes wrong, I suppose she'll be back here in around three weeks."

"And do you expect to be back in London before that?"

"Lavender, I hope you're not asking about Hermione and me. We really aren't an item."

"Don't worry, I didn't mean that," Lavender said quietly. "I'm just wondering if I'll see you folks after this. It's been really nice getting reacquainted, and spending some time with you and Hermione and Ginny. I'd hate to think that it would just end, now that the spell is complete. Just stay in touch, OK?"

It seemed like an innocent statement, but as before, Harry feared that Lavender was starting to become attached to him. Parvati had released him from his promise, but as he'd explained to her, he didn't want to cause Lavender any pain, and here she was, holding his hand and asking him when she'd see him again. He tried to deflect her inquiry by changing the subject slightly: "Actually, yes, I do want to stay in touch. You guys are a great bunch, and it's been fun seeing you and Parvati, and meeting Bruno. Also, I think I've made a decision about my life, and you're the first to hear: Muggle Protection. I grew up in that world, I know it well, and I've seen a lot of abuse of Muggles by snatchers and other lowlifes, and it really bothers me. I think I could help. So I'll probably be in London, at least for a while, training for that. And I'd like to see your school when the children are there, and see Neville and Luna in action, so yes, I'll drop by."

"Harry, can I tell you something?" Lavender now held his hand a bit more firmly than before, and continued: "You never saw me at my worst, during that first year after Parvati brought me home. I felt absolutely hopeless, but I began to realize that I had to focus on things I could do, just little things at first, like making my own lunch, or working a bit in the garden. And then, one day, I had the idea of opening the school, and it helped me to feel stronger, more purposeful. Please don't be angry at me for saying this: you've been through so much, and maybe you're different, but I know you've been drifting, and I'm so glad to hear that you have a plan. I just want you to know that activity helped me to pull things together, and I hope it works for you."

Harry didn't mind hearing this. It was good advice, and he was thankful that Lavender cared enough to speak to him this way, but he began to feel confused and trapped, and suddenly he wanted to get outside. "Thanks, Lavender. I really appreciate that, and I agree, I've got to start doing things. But right now I need to go see someone, so I'll let you finish your breakfast."

Harry left the Hall, feeling awkward, and trying not to appear to be in a hurry to get away. Once outside, he wandered down to his familiar spot among the trees, where he could be alone. The good news was that he was turning a corner. He knew it now. He had found a calling that felt right, that would allow him to do something he believed in, something that helped people. Also, he didn't have to settle any romantic issues now, and he hoped that whatever feelings Lavender might have for him would fade away while he was out of town. And what about Hermione? Nobody knew what she was thinking, maybe not even she. And Ron? Was he going to show up at some point and work things out with her, one way or another? Suppose the two of them broke it off? Was Hermione interested in Harry? He had told everyone he knew that he had no romantic interest in her, but maybe he was wrong about that. Harry laughed to himself at the idea that just about everyone except he and Hermione seemed to believe that they were inevitable. But that's the way it had been with Luna and Neville. Everybody else saw it, and then, one day, the two of them finally figured it out. So things really could happen that way.

After a while, Harry had calmed down, and he returned to the castle. Looking into the Great Hall, he now saw Hermione and Ginny having a very late breakfast. Ginny was eating yogurt and a muffin, but Hermione's plate was filled to overflowing with a serving of everything that was available, and she was eating voraciously. Harry approached to wish them a good day; it was too late for good morning wishes. Hermione continued to eat, and between bites she said, "I can't remember the last time I ate like this. I'm completely drained of energy, but I feel rested, and so ready to move on." With a smile, she added, "Look, you two, if it disturbs you to see me eating like this, you probably should sit somewhere else for a while."

Ginny smiled and said, "I'm OK for now, but if you fill your plate one more time, I may have some problems."

"I think I can handle it," said Harry. "It's just part of the price of being friends with the greatest witch of her age. And I'm taking mental notes, so I can report this moment accurately when I write your biography." The three of them laughed.

Now Lavender entered from the hall. She approached and said, "Well, I'm off in a moment. Parvati's already headed into Hogsmeade, and I'm going to meet her there to head home. I was just upstairs saying goodbye to Professor McGonagall. And I hope that all of you will stay in touch. It was really great to see you again." With a small, formal bow to Hermione, she continued, "It was an honor and a privilege to help you with the spell, Hermione, and I wish you the best of success. And I would love to meet your parents some day. The people who raised such a fine person as you must really be wonderful."

Hermione wiped away a tear and said, "Lavender, that was really sweet. We do have to make up for lost time, and I promise, if it all goes well, that I'll bring my parents to see you. I know they would love to meet you and see your school."

The others hugged and kissed Lavender, and she turned and walked briskly out of the room.

After a few minutes, Ginny said, "And I'm next; off to the Burrow for a while, then back to work. You two let me know as soon as you're back in town."

Once again there were hugs and kisses all around, and Harry accompanied Ginny to the door to have a few words with her.

"Gin, I just want to thank you again for being so good to me. Through the years, and especially over the past few weeks."

"It's fine. And Harry, I want you to do what makes you happy from here on out. You know, job, relationships, whatever. You're such a good person, and you've been through so much; it's your turn to be cheerful again."

They embraced once again, and kissed goodbye. Harry watched after Ginny as she left the castle and walked down the path towards Hogsmeade. Then he returned to Hermione, who had finally finished eating. "Well," he asked, "what's the plan?"

Hermione stifled a small burp, laughed at herself, and said, "I'm going down to the dungeon now, to distill the potion we made last night, and separate my Mum's and Dad's memories." Then, handing Harry a slip of parchment, she continued, "After that, I'm off to see them in Melbourne. Give me four or five days, then come to this address. That's my house, and my parents live nearby."

Shortly afterward, Harry returned to London, and Hermione departed for Australia.


	9. Melbourne

On returning to London, Harry visited the Ministry and applied for a position in Muggle protection. He gave the names of Arthur Weasley, Professor McGonagall, and two other Hogwarts professors as personal references, and was told that he would be contacted in September for an interview.

Now he settled in to wait a few days before traveling to Melbourne, and was surprised one evening by a knock at the door. When Harry answered, Ron walked in, and in characteristic fashion he skipped the pleasantries and plunged in with, "OK, I've been away for a month. What have I missed?"

The big news, Harry told him, was that Hermione had completed her spell, and that she was in Australia now, with two vials of potion in hand, which she hoped would restore her parents' memories. He also told Ron of Hermione's appointment to the faculty at Hogwarts, and of his own plans to work in Muggle protection.

He then turned to something more personal: "And Ron, I also need to tell you that Ginny and I have broken up." Ron looked at him inquiringly, and Harry continued: "You know that I haven't been good to her, and when I finally came out and apologized for the way I've been, she forgave me, which shows what a great person she is. But we agreed that we should let it go, at least for a while. We didn't say anything definite about the future, but I don't think it's going to happen again. She was always really good to me, and I was just pathetic, for too long. And I think she'll be happier down the road with someone else."

"Are you saying that I don't have to try out any of my latest hexes on you?"

"Well, that's up to you, Ron, but you might want to check with Ginny first."

After a pause, Ron smiled and said, "No need to; I already did. I've been to the Burrow, saw her there, and she told me about it. The important thing is that you admitted that it was all your fault."

"Well, I'm the guy, so it stands to reason ..."

"You know, every once in a while you actually say something sensible."

Harry smiled, but continued along a serious line, "Look, Ron, there's something else I want to tell you, maybe more amusing than anything else, but I'd prefer that you heard it from me. Do you want to get something to eat first?"

"Sure; fish and chips?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. Oh, and as long as we're getting into personal stuff, I think that someone needs to ask what's going on with you and Hermione. Should I have that honor?"

"Do I get to eat first?"

"Yes."

As an Auror, Ron often traveled. Things had settled down a good deal since the defeat of Voldemort, but the general lawlessness that he had encouraged, in the form of snatchers and other sorts of petty criminals preying on the magical and non-magical populations, continued to warrant attention.

Harry and Ron had separate flats in London, not far from each other, so when both were in town they often spent time together. This proximity had contributed to a lifestyle that could fairly be described as a state of extended adolescence. Ginny and Hermione also lived in town, and neither of the young men had felt compelled to commit to anything more than a regular dating relationship, which often took the form of something resembling a double date, but was little more than an ongoing friendship among the four.

But now that Harry and Ginny had separated, Harry could see that Ron and Hermione might not be able to continue as casually as before. Ron might not see that yet, but he would figure it out soon enough. And with Hermione's impending move to Hogwarts, Ron might lose her entirely, through no greater cause than negligence. On the other hand, this state of affairs wasn't entirely Ron's fault. Hermione also seemed to be negligent about their relationship. Harry didn't want to see another relationship collapse from inattention, and he felt that a bit of help from him could make a difference.

Over supper, Harry again mentioned Hermione's appointment at Hogwarts: "So Ron, I'm just saying, as a good old friend of both of yours, that I hope that you and Hermione can figure out what's best for you two, and not stumble into something by accident. I made that mistake, and I'm not proud of it, so I feel like I should say something about the merits of looking ahead. Can you come to Australia with me? I don't really know what I'm supposed to do there, but Hermione will be in Melbourne for the next week or two, and this seems like a good opportunity for the two of you to work things out, one way or another."

"She didn't exactly invite me, did she?"

"She didn't exactly know when you'd be back, did she? Look, don't toss roadblocks at me. I'm not trying to force you into something, I'm just saying that we shouldn't let our lives be determined by chance any more than they have to be. Why not come along with me, and we'll see what happens?"

"And what if she tells me to pack and leave?"

"Then maybe you pack and leave. But isn't that better than drifting to the same conclusion, and not being sure of how it happened?"

"Yeah, I guess so. So when are you leaving?"

"In two days."

"Well, I have a couple of weeks off, so maybe I should give it a spin. Now what was that other thing you had to tell me?"

"I was hoping not to get to it right away, but you might as well know. Do you remember somebody who used to call you 'Won Won'?"

Ron collapsed in laughter. "What a year that was! But I've got to admit that in her own bizarre way, Lavender did help me get together with Hermione, so I guess I owe her."

"I'm glad you're feeling charitable about her. Look, Hermione needed to find another person for that spell, and it had to be someone with certain personality traits, one of which was a strong emotional streak, so we thought of ..."

Once again, Ron broke into laughter. "Who, Lavender? Emotional? I thought all that snogging was for the physical exercise!"

"Ron, I may need to try out some of _my_ new hexes on _you_. Could you please just shut up and listen for a minute?"

"I'm trying to, Harry, but you keep making me laugh."

"Actually, it's kind of sad. As I was saying, Hermione needed someone who had a strong emotional streak and who had experienced tragedy."

Harry then recounted the story of Lavender's injuries, the loss of her parents, and her slow recovery, leaving out some of the more personal matters that had been recounted to him by Parvati and Lavender. He then described the school she had opened, Neville and Luna's association with it, and how Hermione had renewed her relationship with Lavender and Parvati. "So however you remember them from school, Lavender and Parvati are pretty serious people now. They seem to have figured out what's important to them, and they get up each day with real goals in mind, which is more than I can say about myself. And I've been spending some time with them, particularly with Lavender."

Ron was beginning to catch the drift. "And you and Lavender might ... ?"

"No, nothing like that. She's in a really bad state, and I've already caused plenty of unhappiness on a lot of fronts. I'm just saying that I've gotten to know her as a friend, nothing more, and if the Ministry accepts my application, I'm hoping for an assignment that takes me far away."

"Harry, old bean, you sound almost like a gentleman!"

Harry recalled that this is what Parvati had said to him, but he didn't mention it.

They left it at that, and a few days later they were in Melbourne. It seemed best not to surprise Hermione, so Ron settled in at the bar in a small hotel near her home, while Harry continued on. When he arrived at her house, he found it to be a small, wood frame structure on a quiet street. Hermione wasn't home, so he sat on an old sofa on the front porch to wait. It was mid-winter, and there was a chill in the air, but he was dressed warmly, and it was comfortable to sit there quietly.

Harry soon found himself thinking about how one's life proceeds as a seemingly random product of plans and circumstance. Back in London, he'd told Ron that the big changes in one's life shouldn't be determined by chance, if at all possible, but it seemed to him that chance had a way of intervening anyway. He did like spending time with Lavender, but that relationship, whatever it was, had only developed because Hermione had needed help, and Ginny had thought of Lavender, and Harry had felt that he should approach her first, and about six other chance events.

He also considered Lavender's situation. She had known real pain and loss, yet, in time, she had found a way to rise above these things; not by waiting passively to see if things improved, but by setting goals for herself, and taking command. And she'd had the support of her friends. Like her, Harry had experienced pain and loss, but he had floundered, in spite of the support he had received from his friends. Well, if she could pull through, perhaps he could too.

Harry considered these matters for an hour or so, until Hermione arrived. She walked up the front steps, and said, "Hey Harry, come on in; I'll get you something warm to drink."

"What time is it, Hermione? I'm fagged."

"Early afternoon," she replied, and with a flick of her wand he was feeling better. "That's a little spell for long-distance travel, kind of a jet-lag thing," she continued. "You'll still need to sleep it off, but now you'll know night from day."

They walked to the kitchen, and Harry sat at the table, while Hermione busied herself making tea. Harry noticed that she looked a bit nervous, or self-conscious about something, and he figured that she had something to tell him, so he sat quietly and waited for her to speak. He hoped it wasn't bad news about her parents.

Hermione set out a plate with a few biscuits, then served the tea, and seated herself on the other side of the table. She looked at him for a few moments, and Harry could see that that she had something on her mind, perhaps a decision that she had to make. Then, apparently speaking to herself, she said, "Oh, why not give it a try?" and she stood and walked over to Harry.

"Harry, please push your chair back from the table," she said. Harry did so, and Hermione sat on his knee. She looked into his eyes for a moment, smiled nervously, and then embraced him and kissed him passionately. Through all their years together, she had never kissed him like this. Harry decided that the best thing to do was to go along with it; he joined in the embrace, and returned the kiss.

After a minute, Hermione let go of Harry, smiled, and stood up.

"Well," said Harry, "that was rather nice. What was it?"

"Just a little experiment. Do you think we're right for each other?" But before Harry could answer, she continued, "Because I don't. I love you like family, but not in that way ..."

Harry continued her thought: "But people keep telling you that we belong together, and sometimes you ask yourself if they might be right?"

Hermione smiled and nodded, then returned to her seat.

Harry spoke again, "Same here. And let me just say that I really enjoyed that experiment. And as your future biographer, I'm also wondering where you learned to kiss like that, Hermione Jean." They laughed, and Harry continued, "But I agree, I don't see anything like that between us either."

"But maybe you see something like that with Lavender?" Hermione asked tentatively.

Harry sighed, and said, "Well, of course I've gotten to like her, as a friend. But look, you know everything about Ginny and me, from start to finish, so you must be aware of the negative possibilities. And consider the fact that I'd be on the rebound if I wandered over to her place and told her how sad and lonely I am. And I haven't told you everything that I heard from Parvati; she says that there's been a string of guys falling for Lavender, mostly widowed fathers of children at her school. They're all broken up over losing their wives and girlfriends, and they visit the headmistress to talk about their children's problems, and she listens, and tries to comfort them. And after a while, in that sitting room of hers, they start to think that she's exactly what they need."

Now Harry softened his tone a bit, and continued, "And it's easy to see why they fall for her. After all, she's so - you know - what's the word?"

"I don't know, Harry ... Sympathetic? Understanding? Kind?"

Harry looked up, with tears in his eyes, and he replied, "Yes, all of those."

"Those don't sound very bad to me."

"Then why wasn't I able to work it out with Ginny?"

"Oh Harry, you must know that I don't have an answer to that. I've thought about it, since you two broke up, but remember, love is a kind of magic that nobody can control, and anything I might say is just a guess. And I'm not trying to play matchmaker; I don't know if you and Lavender would be good together, I'm just telling you how it looks to me, which is this:

"Yes, Ginny has those qualities too, but she's also quiet and patient, and she tends to wait to see how things will work out. I've known Lavender for as long as I've known you, and one thing about her is that she will always tell you what's on her mind. It was too much, back in school, the constant chatter about clothing and boys and whatever else she was obsessing about. But she's a lot more serious now, and she's moved beyond that stuff.

"And what I'm trying to say, Harry, is that you're kind of the quiet type yourself, like Ginny, and you've been even more that way over the past few years. So maybe you need to be drawn out of your shell a bit, challenged when you need to hear something. If Lavender sees you brooding, she'll ask you why, and maybe give you a stiff kick in the rear when you need one, in a nice way, of course. But relationships aren't built on logic, they're based on things that nobody understands. Gads, just look at me and Ron if you want to see something that makes no sense! So you have to go with your own feelings, but it just seems to me that Lavender would be a good friend for you, and maybe more."

"Well," said Harry, "that all makes sense. I do like talking with her, and I agree, she does help to get things out in the open. But I need to be careful; she has really suffered, and I don't want to add to her pain."

Then, abruptly changing topics, he continued, "OK, I'll think about it, but that's enough about me. I want to know how things are going with you and your parents."

"Pretty well so far. I decided to do what Hogwarts does when Muggle-borns reach age eleven. Just visit and talk to them directly. That's how they originally told me and my parents that I was magical."

"So I stopped by to see them, and I said that I had some strange news for them, something they might find difficult to believe. I did _not_ tell them that I was related to them, just that there is this magical world, that we keep it secret from non-magical people, and that I wanted them to know about it. One shock at a time, right? Fortunately, they already know me, their friendly neighbor with the boyfriend they've never seen, and they were willing to listen to my story. So I showed them some basic magic, I explained to them that we really do use wands, and fly on broomsticks, and now they're pretty much convinced that I'm telling them the truth. Simple things like summoning, and levitation, and transfiguration are very handy in such circumstances. And after they're fully on board with the reality of the magical world, I'll tell them who I am, and about the potions we prepared, and we'll try to bring back their memories."

"So what's my job supposed to be?"

"I thought that having 'the boyfriend' with me would make it more real, help them to connect things. The memories that we retrieved that night at Hogwarts are the key to all of this, but Professor McGonagall thinks it will help if they're connected to tangible things that my parents can see after I administer the potions. Remember, they've met you, and I've told them a lot about you through the years. So if they see you, just as those memories are returning, it might help them to knit things together."

"But I'm not the boyfriend, Hermione. I think we just agreed on that." And with a smile, he added, "Or do we need to run that little experiment again?"

Hermione laughed, and continued, "It's just to ease them in, and I didn't know how Ron would feel about playing the role."

"You could ask him. He's sitting in a hotel bar a couple of blocks from here."

"He came here with you?"

"Yes. He showed up at my place just after I returned from Hogwarts, and he had some time off, so I told him what we'd been up to, and asked him to come with me."

"And what did you have to say to persuade him to come, Harry?"

"Wrong question, Hermione! He's here, and he wants to help. Would you like to see him, and ask him to do this?"

"You're right, I shouldn't be looking for problems. Well, I can't be sure about this until I talk with him, and I guess I should do that. Do you want to come along?"

"No, I like the idea of you walking into the place alone. It's that little hotel down the road. And he's probably had a few beers by now, on top of the time-lag, so you might want to hit him with that spell that you used on me. Take your time, and if you guys want to go out and do something, don't worry about me. Go and get reacquainted, and I'll be here when you get back."

"Bye, Harry!"

Harry read for a while, then dozed off on a sofa in the front room. He awakened three hours later to the sound of Ron's and Hermione's shoes clumping up the wooden steps of the porch, and he was rubbing his eyes as they entered, arm in arm, and smiling.

Hermione spoke first: "Hey Harry, we took a walk in the gardens by the river, and I showed Ron around the Wizarding district near Bourke Street. Are you hungry?"

"Actually, no," said Harry, stifling a smirk. "I've been eating crackers and Vegemite all afternoon, and I'm stuffed."

"Don't mock, Harry, it's good for you! And isn't Lavender a vegetarian? I'm sure that she'd approve!"

"What has she got to do with it?"

"Nothing at all, if you're still the fool you always have been," said Hermione.

Harry groaned, and Ron laughed, adding, "It sounds to me like Hermione is pushing you right into Lavender's arms. Quite the opposite of her attitude back in school, wouldn't you say?"

Hermione was quick to change the subject: "OK, so you actually are hungry, right? Well, there's really good food in this town!" And they headed off to eat.

After supper they returned to Hermione's place, and she prepared some herb tea. Soon they were sitting comfortably in the front room. Ron and Hermione appeared to be intimate and happy together, and Harry figured that he'd done all he could, or should, to help get them to this point. The rest was up to them. By way of indirect inquiry, he said, "Well, I guess I'll head home tomorrow, if everything is under control here."

"I think so," said Hermione. "And is everything good with you?"

"Actually, yes," he replied. "The last few weeks have been very instructive. I'll be making some changes, all for the good, so don't worry about me. Frankly, I'm tired of having people worrying about me. Or more to the point, I'm tired of behaving in a way that causes people to worry."

"Have people been worrying about you?" asked Ron, with a grin.

Hermione poked him in the side with her elbow, rolled her eyes, and said, "Always the most sensitive person in the room!" They all smiled, and Hermione continued: "And seriously, Harry, what do you think of Lavender?"

Harry shrugged and said, "Seriously? She's had a really bad time of it, ever since the battle. Of course I'm impressed by the way she's pulled through. But you know what I've been like for the past few years. I didn't make Ginny very happy, so would you really expect anything different with Lavender?"

"There's no way to tell. But if you feel like seeing her, you know, just to talk, don't be shy. She did tell us to stay in touch."

"Well, I'll think about it," he replied. And rising, he continued, "But right now, I'm going to hit the sack."


	10. Kew

The following morning, Harry departed for London. A couple of days later, he visited Parvati at her shop.

"Hi Harry. Already back from Melbourne? So is everything going well with Hermione and her parents?"

"I don't really know. I brought Ron with me, and he stayed to help, in my place. And it looks like he and Hermione are back together. Or still together; you know, it's always kind of ambiguous with them."

Parvati nodded and replied, "Muddling along like the rest of us, eh? Well, I wish them the best. So could you bring some cookies over to Lavender's for me?"

"You just happened to be sending a box of cookies to her today? Or do you have some other motive?"

With a smile, Parvati said: "You might very well think that, but I couldn't possibly comment. Seriously, though, I have nothing else in mind. When I make certain varieties I generally send a box over to her, and I would have brought them over myself, later today, if you hadn't walked in."

Harry answered, "Well, I was going to drop by and see her anyway, so I'm glad to do it." Then, with a smile, he added, "I'll take the cookies, but I'll leave the cannoli."

Harry watched as Parvati packed a box of cookies, and then he headed over to Lavender's house. He knocked at the front door, and hearing her approaching from within, he called out, in a singsong voice, "Delivery for Brown, from Sweet Cakes." Lavender opened the door and greeted Harry, as always, with an affectionate hug and a kiss on the cheek. He handed the box to her, and followed her through to the kitchen.

"Thanks, Harry. Oh, these are Parvati's charoli cookies! She told me she'd be making some this week. But aren't you home sooner than you had planned?"

"Well, Ron showed up at my flat, shortly after I returned from Hogwarts, and I brought him with me to Melbourne. He stayed to help Hermione, so I came back home. And they seem to have connected again, but you know how it is with them."

"Yes; so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Look, Harry, I'm really busy today, but I'd like to take you somewhere. Tomorrow would be great, if you're free."

"Where to?"

"Kew Gardens, at the west end of town; do you know it?"

"Sure, though I haven't been there in a long time. I remember a tall pagoda, and palm trees in a conservatory, beside a pond."

"That's it. Can you meet me inside the Victoria Gate, on the east side of the Garden, at 10 o'clock?"

"I'll find it. See you later."

As Harry turned to leave, Lavender said, "Friends?"

Harry turned back and answered, "Yes, of course, always friends." They hugged, and Harry departed.

Before going home, Harry stopped in again at Parvati's shop. "Parvi, she's taking me to Kew tomorrow. It's just a day at the garden with a friend, right? I mean, you know what I'm worried about."

Parvati nodded, and said, "Yes, I know what you're worried about. But Harry, I'd like to tell you something: After we returned from Hogwarts, Lavender and I had a long talk, and we agreed that she's ready to manage things on her own again, you know, without checking with me all the time. And that's good news, right? She's going to have some bad days, but so are we all. You saw me break down completely, that night you were over here, but I'm hanging in there.

"And I think it's going to be like that for some of us, for a long time. We're a damaged generation. We went through too much, we saw too much, when we were too young, and it takes time to heal. But we have each other. And what I'm trying to say is that I think that Lavender is about where the rest of us are now, still hurting, but getting by. So maybe we should try not to worry about her too much. If we can just remember how hard it's been for everyone, and try to take care of each other, maybe we can muddle through this."

Tears were running down Parvati's cheeks as she finished speaking, but she had kept her composure as she spoke.

Harry nodded soberly, and answered, "Thanks; and yes, I think I understand."

They hugged, and Parvati watched as Harry left the shop and turned to walk up the block. She sighed, and then walked to the back of the shop, and started a batch of cake batter.

0-0-0

In the morning, Harry found his way to Kew, located the Victoria Gate, and entered the grounds. Lavender was standing just inside, smiling, as he walked up. She greeted him, and they walked off to see the gardens. Harry enjoyed being with her, but he was wondering if she had something more in mind than a day out with a friend. As he'd reminded himself so many times, she was still healing, still vulnerable, and he didn't want to hurt her. Parvati had told him that things were better now, but it seemed prudent to be careful.

They walked for the remainder of the morning, through conservatories, lawns, formal gardens, and woodland paths, and they had lunch under an arbor. They held hands much of the time, but with Lavender it was natural and comfortable. At one point Lavender asked Harry if it felt awkward, and he said that it didn't, though even as he spoke he was thinking that everything was relative. It wasn't uncomfortable in a social sense, and in fact he enjoyed it, just as he enjoyed her friendly hugs and kisses when she greeted him. But it wouldn't be good if this was an indication that she was becoming too close to him. It bothered him that an innocent outing like this might set the stage for negative developments later. He had told Parvati repeatedly that he didn't want to hurt Lavender, and now he feared that simply by being friendly, he was on his way to doing exactly that. As he considered these things, he also realized that he was beginning to feel trapped. Perhaps, after today, he would find a way to be more scarce, busy with other things. Surely that was the kind thing to do.

As they strolled along the paths, Lavender pointed out plants of interest, sometimes the shape or coloration of a leaf or flower, other times the branching pattern of a tree. Some of the plants seemed to be like old friends to her: "Look, Harry, here's a display of different Salvia species. Different colors and sizes, but basically the same flower. I've been thinking of planting something like this at home. On a much smaller scale, of course, maybe three or four species in a corner of the formal garden."

Later in the day they stopped for tea in the Orangery, and shared a slice of cake. Two men at a nearby table were talking intently about palms from Madagascar. Four or five nannies sat together and chatted, at the far end of the dining area, with their charges sitting on their laps or sleeping in prams. "I hope I haven't bored you with this place," said Lavender.

Harry wanted to reply that he was never bored when he was with her, but that was just the sort of thing he knew he shouldn't say, so he answered rather noncommittally, "No, I'm enjoying myself," and he thought to himself, "Hold back, don't stray into a situation that you'll end up regretting."

Lavender frowned slightly at this reply, and she was quiet for a while. Then she said, "Harry, I've been thinking that in one way you and I are opposites."

Harry was unexpectedly disconcerted by this remark. His concern until now had been with the dangers of their becoming too close, and now, unexpectedly, he found himself worried that Lavender was about to tell him that she was thinking that they should spend less time together. He replied, tentatively, "How are we opposites?"

"I guess you've heard the phrase, 'fear of commitment'?"

Harry looked down, and said, "Sure; that's me all over. But I've lost so many people through the years. My parents, Sirius, Dobby, Lupin and Tonks, and so many others. I know I've become afraid of close relationships, but it feels safer this way. And are you saying that you're the opposite?"

"Yes. I don't know if there's a name for it, but maybe it should be called 'fear of non-commitment'. Back in school I had a crush on a different boy every month. All in, every time, nothing half-way. I've already told you why I think I was like that. And while I've outgrown the worst of it, I still feel those tendencies at times." Then, abruptly, Lavender added, "Let's walk, Harry; I want to show you something."

They rose and exited the building. Lavender led Harry along a path to the left. "I've lost people too, Harry. When I woke that night in the infirmary, and looked up at Padma, there was only one thing on my mind. My parents. I didn't know how long I'd been unconscious. I'd been having nightmares constantly, but you have no sense of time when you're in that world. For all I knew, it was the next day. I remembered being in the battle, and I just wanted to see my Mum and Dad. So I asked for them, and Padma held my hand and looked at me, with tears in her eyes, and I knew they were gone."

Harry squeezed her hand and said, "Lavender, I'm so sorry." She silently nodded her thanks, and wiped a few tears from her eyes.

Lavender continued to lead Harry along a series of paths, generally southward and eastward, to a quiet corner of the garden. "Here's what I wanted you to see, Harry. These are student gardens. Teenagers come and work here as interns, and they take gardening classes, and they design and plant their own small plots in this section. Come and see what they've written about their projects."

They walked together from one plot to another. In front of each one there was a sign with a personal statement by the person who had designed, planted, and tended the garden. Each statement described a student's love of plants and gardens. One was attracted to plants as sources of food and dyes and medicines and fibers, the next by the variety of colors and textures, and another by the simple exuberance and unpredictability of plants as living, growing things. Harry examined several of the small garden plots, and read through the associated statements, but he didn't know what Lavender expected him to see.

"Look, Harry, all of the plants in this plot are in colors ranging from yellow to orange to red. The young man who planted it put ornamentals and food plants together in the same plot. He planted a row of marigolds between the tomatoes and the nasturtiums, but a big shoot from this squash plant found its way over from the other side, and flopped onto the border, and then a squash grew, right on top of the tomatoes."

"Are you telling me that these plots are an inspiration for the gardens that you have the children plant at your school?"

"Yes, but look at why I do it. This boy planned his garden carefully, he knew what he was trying to accomplish, but plants are living things, and they don't always grow the way you expect them to. They may grow more quickly on one side than the other, for no reason you can understand, and then something else moves in. And they're not like furniture. You can't just pick up part of a plant and move it out of the way, because it's connected to the rest of the plant, and it grew the way it did on its own. Sometimes a plant begins to grow in the spot where you place it, but then the roots hit a rock, so it turns around and goes the other way. But it's too shady there, so it sends out some more growth, and it finds a new spot, and now it's fine, but it's nowhere near where you intended it to be. And the gardener learns to adjust, to work with things as they develop."

Now Harry began to see: "Like our lives ... "

"Yes, Harry, like our lives. Look, we have to plan, we can't just wander through life without goals, and wait to see what happens. But when unexpected things do happen, good and bad, and our plans are upset, I think we need to remember who we are, and what we believe in, and try to do the best we can under the new circumstances. This is one of the things I try to teach the children, and their little garden plots are a part of that." After a moment she continued, "Would you like to sit down for a minute?"

They found a bench nearby, and sat beside each other, but Harry looked down at the ground. He was afraid of what Lavender might say next. She reached over and took Harry's hand, and then she spoke: "Harry, if a person with a fear of commitment is attracted to another person, what has to happen for their relationship to thrive?"

"But Lavender, you and I aren't ... "

"I'm not talking about you and me. It's a general question, about how things work. Pretend that we're back in Potions Class, and Professor Snape has just asked you this."

"Doesn't Miss Granger have her hand up? I'm sure she knows the answer."

Lavender smiled, knowing that Harry would come around in a moment. She patted the back of his hand, and replied, "Of course she does. But let's not always hear from the same people. And Miss Parkinson is snickering from the back row, because she thinks you're about to make a fool out of yourself. And perhaps she's right. But Professor Snape is looking at you, and he wants an answer to his question."

"Sorry, what's the question again?"

Lavender smiled, and replied, "OK, since it's me, and not Professor Snape, I'll be patient with the troublesome student, and I'll ask the question again: If a person with a fear of commitment and another person, maybe one with a fear of non-commitment, are attracted to each other, what has to happen for their relationship to develop in a positive way?"

Harry stared at the ground, and replied slowly, "The person with the fear of commitment has to take an active part in helping the relationship grow."

"Very good, Mr. Potter." And continuing in her pedagogical tone: "And why is this so?"

Continuing to stare at the ground, Harry said, "Because if that person won't commit, it brings out the worst in both of them. The relationship is asymmetric. The other person is always trying to make things work, trying to look on the bright side, trying to be accommodating, and all along she has to keep lowering her expectations, while the one who won't commit falls into a state of dependency. He allows himself to be dragged along, always reluctantly, and meanwhile, he's preparing an escape route, and an excuse to point to later, to explain why it all failed. But it's his inaction that's destroying the relationship."

"Not bad. Two points for Gryffindor."

"Just two points? For all that?"

"Yes, Harry, just two points, because it's so damned obvious."

At this, Harry looked up in a panic, expecting to see Lavender glaring at him angrily, expecting her to scold him, fearing that having made her point she would now stand up and walk away. This was the second time in half an hour that he had found himself fearing that Lavender would reject him. But as he looked up at her, he saw no anger in her demeanor. Instead, she sat with her hands in her lap, smiling at him.

Now Harry spoke: "Lavender, of course you're right. You can't let the other person carry it all, while you wait around for them to give up and leave. And then when they do leave, you tell yourself that the relationship was always doomed to fail."

"Harry, please listen to me. As I said, this isn't about you and me. I admit that I've become rather fond of you over the past few weeks, but I know what my tendencies are. Too quick to become attached, then regretful for having jumped into the deep end. So I'm just speaking to you as a friend, offering you a bit of advice, OK? Maybe you should try to work things out with Ginny, or maybe there's someone else out there who will make you happy. I thought it might be Hermione, despite all the denials from both of you. And if you had returned from Australia as a couple, I would have been happy for both of you. But now that you're back, and it didn't happen, and you and I are friends, and nothing more, I'm telling you that it saddens me to see you like this. It's bad for you, and for those around you, and it doesn't have to be this way."

Harry didn't respond immediately. He sat quietly, looking forward, past the student plots, at the brick wall that stood behind them. Tears began to form in his eyes as he felt a wave of relief pass through him. A little while ago he had felt trapped, but something inside had changed, and now he felt free in a way that he hadn't for a long time, as though he had been released from a constraint of some sort.

Now Lavender spoke, tentatively: "Do you want to have supper with me tonight, Harry? I think there's a wholefood store near the Underground station; we can pick up a few things there, and make supper at my place. Or if you'd rather just head home ... "

"No, I mean Yes, I would like to have supper with you. I'm just thinking right now about the mistakes I've made." Harry stood, and walked along with Lavender, back to the gate. They did not hold hands. Before leaving the grounds, they stopped at the garden shop, and Lavender purchased some bars of soap, and a small book about gardening with Salvia. Then they exited, picked up some items at the food store near the station, and returned to Lavender's house.


	11. The Ninth Garden

Harry soon discovered that he enjoyed cooking with Lavender. He had always liked to cook, and he found that the two of them worked well together. One would wash and cut and measure ingredients while the other worked at the stove, and periodically they would switch roles, almost without having to speak. Occasionally, one would offer the other a taste of one of the works in progress, and ask for an opinion: Sweet enough? Creamy enough? Add a bit more pepper? Let it simmer a few more minutes? And both of them embellishing the products with decorative innovations; for what is cooking without presentation?

But even as they worked together in the kitchen, Harry remained fairly quiet, occasionally engaging in some banter, but for the most part speaking little more than necessary. Their afternoon talk at Kew had left him feeling both liberated and disoriented, and it was an odd combination that he didn't quite understand. Lavender, for her part, could see that Harry was in a contemplative mood, and she left him to his thoughts.

After supper, they moved to the parlor for coffee, along with a plate of the charoli cookies that Harry had brought from Parvati's shop the day before. As he sat beside Lavender on a sofa, enjoying the unfamiliar combination of flavors in the cookies, Harry remained mostly quiet. Eventually Lavender said, "Harry, I hope I didn't push you too hard earlier. I want you to be happier, but that doesn't mean that I know what's best for you. If you want some time alone, to think things through, please don't feel that you have to stay any longer, just to be polite."

Harry replied, "No, I'm glad you said those things, and I'm still thinking it all through. You did shake me up, but everything you said was true, about keeping my distance from people, and allowing things to drift along. I've been doing that for a long time, and it has to end. And you're also right about taking life as it comes, even if there are no guarantees that things will work out the way you planned them to. Whatever happens, you need to keep breathing, moving forward." He smiled now, and continued: "Or as 'dear Minerva' said, I need to exert myself."

After a while Harry spoke again, now with some trepidation: "But another reason I've been so quiet this evening is that I've been thinking about what I should do next, how I should move forward. And when I think about that, I keep seeing you in the picture."

Lavender smiled, took Harry's hand in hers, raised it to her lips, and kissed it. Seeing this as encouraging, Harry continued: "Lavender, if all you had done was to shake me out of my passivity, I could thank you for being so helpful, and then go home. But I've been realizing over the last few weeks how much I like being with you. I feel comfortable when we're together. I enjoy talking with you and doing things with you. And also, knowing how you've suffered, I want to try to help you to be happy.

"And what I've been realizing today is how I've been holding back, telling myself to avoid getting into any kind of situation that would end up hurting you, because I thought I was getting along well enough, and you were vulnerable. But I'm starting to see that I had that all turned around, that I let my fear of hurting you become another excuse for keeping my distance, for continuing to watch things from the outside, just as I've been doing for the past few years.

"I don't know if I could possibly be of any use to you, but I know that I'd like to be closer to you. Just friends, if you're not interested in something more than that, but one way or another I'd really like to spend more time with you. You know, if you wouldn't mind ... "

Lavender replied, "If I wouldn't mind? Harry, I'd love to be closer to you, but not if you thought I was doing it as a favor. Do you really wonder if you're - how did you just put it? - 'of any use to me'"?

"But I don't really know ... "

"Well, if you don't see it, I guess I'll have to spell it out. Do you remember the day that we sat in my garden, when we were waiting for Parvati to come over? And we talked about the Sorting Hat, and memories of our time at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, of course."

Lavender was smiling, but tears began to roll down her cheeks as she spoke: "Harry, you told me that day that I shouldn't feel that there had been anything wrong with me when I was younger, and I was such a foolish little thing. Just for a moment, ask yourself how it might feel to hear that, after I've spent years feeling that everyone who knows me thinks of me as a joke, as a silly, over-emotional child who never grew up. You also told me that day that even when we were little, you never questioned the fact that I belonged in Gryffindor. I've always wondered why I was placed there, with all the really brave people like you and Ron and Hermione. I didn't see how I could ever live up to that, but that day in the garden, you said that you never doubted me."

"And then, when I began to relax, and I started to tell you about the things that are important to me, things that a lot of people don't understand, like why I opened my school, and how I have this idea healing the world, you didn't laugh at me, or look at me in a way that said I was being naïve and ridiculous. You took it seriously; you took _me_ seriously! And since that time, in a hundred ways, I've seen you look past the superficial, in me and in other people, and find the good inside. And you're never afraid to say it."

Lavender was now simultaneously laughing and crying, as she was overcome by waves of conflicting emotions. Fearing that she was in distress, Harry leaned toward her, hugged her closely, and said, "But Lav, I was just saying what I believed."

Lavender answered, "Yes, and that's what I'm trying to tell you! You always say what you believe, and it's kind, and generous, and forgiving of people's foibles! A little while ago you said that you wanted to spend time with me, and I feel the same about you. I want to share the things that I love and care about with you, and I also want to help you to be happier."

After a few moments, Lavender collected herself, wiped away her tears, smiled, and spoke, more calmly than before: "Now Harry, I can't help but notice that you didn't say anything about love. But maybe that's because I scolded you one time for using that word. So how about this: Whatever we might be thinking about where we're going from here, I'll try not to fall recklessly into it, and you try not to let things drift along. If we're going to be together, and things feel right to you, you should tell me, and if you feel that it's not working, you should tell me that too."

"Yes, I promise. I won't hide anything. I'm through with that kind of existence."

After a pause, Harry continued: "Of course, I do wonder what people will say about us."

Lavender laughed, and answered, "Oh, that's the least of my worries. Do you know what Jane Austen said about what _other_ people think?"

"Ummm, no, what did she say?"

"'For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?'"

Harry smiled, and replied, "Let me see if I understand that correctly: You're saying that in Jane Austen's opinion, our entire purpose in life is to bumble around, make a lot of mistakes, and do foolish things that embarrass us, and in the process, amuse our friends? And their purpose in life is to return the favor?"

"Well, maybe not entirely. You also have to do things like fight Voldemort. But afterwards, you can go right back to doing the ridiculous things that amuse your friends, and enjoying the ridiculous things that they do. So if people think that you and I are an unlikely couple, and it amuses them to think that, let them laugh!"

"Actually, Lav, I kind of like the idea that we're so improbable. People will be surprised to hear that we're together. Well, except for Luna, who told me that day in your garden that you and I were a perfect match."

"You know, Harry, it's Elizabeth Bennet's father who speaks that line about making sport for our neighbors. He says it because he's so amused by a rumor he's just heard, that the proud and distant Mr. Darcy has fallen in love with Elizabeth, and is expected to propose to her. Elizabeth's father knows - or thinks he knows - that she dislikes Mr. Darcy intensely, and that Mr. Darcy dislikes her, so he's laughing at the impossibility of the rumor. What he doesn't know is that Mr. Darcy had already proposed to Elizabeth once, several months earlier, and that she was so vehement in refusing him as to say that he'd be the very last person she would ever consider marrying. But by the time that her father is telling her about the rumor he's heard, she has begun to realize that she really does love Mr. Darcy; but now she's certain that he'll never ask again, because she was so horrid to him the first time. So all through the book, she's supposed to be the smart one, the sensible one, who knows her own mind, but as it turns out, she's more confused than anyone."

"OK, let me get this straight," said Harry. "First they didn't like each other, then he liked her, but she didn't like him, and she made sure to tell him so, but later she decided that she does like him, but by then she's certain that he doesn't like her, because she was so awful to him when she spurned him previously? But despite that, she's hoping that he does still like her?"

Lavender laughed, and answered, "Actually, that's a pretty fair summary of _Pride and Prejudice_ , if you leave out most of the other characters in the book. So maybe you and I can be an improbable couple, just them, and everyone else can be confused and amused. Just imagine what they'll say when they hear that the brave and heroic Harry Potter has found some happiness with 'the most determined flirt that ever made herself or her family ridiculous.' That's another line from _P &P_, describing one of Elizabeth's sisters. And I must tell you that ever since I first read that line, I've felt that she was describing me."

"Lavender, I really don't mind you quoting Jane Austen, but you've got it all turned around: The joke is that the kind and generous and wise Lavender Brown could find happiness with the aimless and confused Harry Potter, a young man of action, perhaps, but someone who could never see anything beyond the tip of his nose."

"Harry, if I can be serious for a moment, I just want to say that I think the real wisdom in that line about amusing our neighbors isn't so much that people _should_ laugh at each other's foibles, or even that they _will_ laugh. I think that what she's saying is that it's of no importance if they do, that each of us should seek happiness wherever we may find it, regardless of how it might look to others. When our friends find out about us, they may laugh at first; but our true friends want us to be happy, and if we are, I'm sure they'll understand, no matter how ridiculous we may seem."

After a pause, she continued: "Now Harry, I do think we should move slowly on this, not because of what others might think, but because we need to see for ourselves what we're doing. Eyes open, you know? So would you be terribly offended if I asked you to sleep here tonight, in the guest room? Parvati is coming over tomorrow for one of our late breakfasts, and there's something I want to show you before she arrives."

"But Lavender, would Miss Austen approve of my staying here tonight, even in a separate room, with no chaperone present?"

"No, not for a minute. She would insist that we sleep at least three counties apart. But I'm not nearly as exacting as she."

0-0-0

Harry awakened the following morning to the sound of dishes clinking in the kitchen below, and he washed, dressed, and headed downstairs, where he found Lavender pouring coffee. "Oh good, you're up," she said. "I was about to increase the noise level."

"Miss Brown, will you please set down the coffee pot for a moment, so I can kiss you properly?"

After a long, loving embrace and kiss, followed by laughter at the improbability of the situation, they sat together, drinking their coffee, and talking about nothing in particular. Presently, Lavender said that she wanted to show Harry something in the garden, and that he should go barefoot, as she would.

"Are we going to see your private garden?"

She nodded, took his hand, and led him out to the back patio. They walked down the stone steps and crossed into the garden. The grass was wet with dew, and the cool moisture on their feet awakened them to the colors and sounds around them. Soon they arrived at one of the locked doors that led into the ninth garden, the one farthest to the right in the back row. "You don't actually need magic to enter," Lavender said. "A regular key will do the trick, or you can just climb over the wall, which isn't very high. But I like to pretend that this is the only way to get in. When I was little, before I could use magic, I kept a key back here, hidden under a stone, and I pretended that it was magical. Do you know what's in this garden?"

"No, but I have a guess. Is this the Lavender Garden?"

She smiled, kissed Harry's cheek, and tapped the lock with her wand. The bolt slid back, Lavender pushed open the door, and they entered a sea of lavender bushes. There were numerous varieties, each a different shade of blue or purple. The colors and aromas of the plants surrounded them as they walked the paths, while bees flew lazily from one plant to another, the collective sound of the buzzing almost soporific.

"This was my mother's favorite part of the garden. And I guess you can see how they named me." Lavender was smiling as she said this, but she wiped away a tear with her handkerchief.

They walked along the grassy paths, among the beds of lavender, basking in the growing warmth of the day, and the aroma of the plants, with the dew on their feet and the bees humming around them. At the far end of the garden they came to two stones, engraved with the names of Lavender's parents, Lucy and Robert. Standing in front of the gravestones, holding Harry's hand, her tears now running freely, Lavender spoke: "Mum, Dad, this is Harry. I think I may love him, and he thinks he may love me. We're going to see if we can make this work." After a pause, she continued: "But if it doesn't," and she turned and faced Harry, "we'll survive. We're strong."

Harry and Lavender stood quietly for a minute, looking at the two gravestones. Harry's tears also flowed as he thought of his own parents in Godric's Hollow, lost so many years ago, and Lavender's parents, whom he'd never met, and the possibility that he and Lavender might find happiness together. Lavender turned to him, wiped his tears away, kissed his salty cheek, and said, "We're allowed to be happy, aren't we?" Harry nodded. They turned and walked back down the path, hand in hand, out of the Lavender Garden, and back to the house.

0-0-0

About an hour later, they were working together in the kitchen when the front doorbell rang. "That should be Parvati," Lavender said.

"I'll get it," said Harry, and he walked to the door and opened it, to find Parvati standing on the step.

"Hi Harry," she said, brightly. "Am I late?" Harry shook his head slowly, but he didn't say a word. A look of slight confusion came to Parvati's face. "Were you early?" Again he didn't speak, but now he smiled and shrugged. Parvati looked down, and saw that he held a wooden spoon in his hand, and that his feet were bare. Now a quizzical smile grew on her face. "Did you stay the night?" she asked. Again, Harry didn't speak. He smiled and nodded slowly. Now her smile broadened, and she asked, "And is there anything else I should know?"

Harry inclined his head towards the rear of the house, and finally he spoke, at a volume barely above a whisper, "You should ask Lavender. She's in the kitchen."

Parvati examined Harry closely, as though he were a curious object in a museum case, one of those mysterious artifacts from an ancient civilization, labeled "purpose unknown," and surrounded by other objects recognizable as combs and bowls and rings. She kissed Harry's cheek, then walked past him and down the hallway towards the kitchen. Harry pushed the front door closed, turned around, and faced back into the house. He could hear two voices speaking in the kitchen, though he couldn't discern the words. Yesterday he'd been in a daze; nothing could reach his senses. Today, the sights and scents and sounds of the world poured in. Harry smiled; he was home.


	12. A Nearly Cloudless Day

Ten months later, on a cloudless June morning, Harry stood at the same door, greeting wedding guests. Lavender was upstairs with Parvati, and access to that floor was restricted to ladies. Lavender had casually informed Harry that she had placed a charm on the stairs, much like the one on the stairway to the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, to prevent men from visiting that floor. He was pretty sure that this was a joke, but charm or no charm, he was more than happy to respect the rule.

The wedding ceremony would take place in the early afternoon, and guests had been invited to arrive any time after ten in the morning for drinks, luncheon, and mingling. Pavilions had been set up in the garden, in case of inclement weather, but there was no sign of rain. As each group of guests arrived, Harry directed them to the garden at the rear of the house, and informed them that ladies were welcome to visit Lavender upstairs, but gentlemen were not. He enjoyed putting it in those terms.

Shortly after ten, Ron and Hermione arrived with Hermione's parents. "Hello Dr. Granger; hello Dr. Granger;" Harry said, "thank you for coming."

"Harry," said Hermione, after embracing him and kissing his cheek, "you sound ridiculous; just call them by their first names, the way Ron does."

"OK. Hello Marjorie, hello Dave, I'm really glad to see you."

"And we're so glad to be here," said Marjorie Granger. "You're very lucky, Harry. I hope you take a moment, every morning when you wake, to remember how fortunate you are to have found such a wonderful person as Lavender. That's my secret," she said, with a smile and a glance toward her husband.

"Mine too," said David Granger. "It makes every day better."

"I agree; it works!" said Harry.

As the Grangers walked by, heading towards the rear of the house, Ron tarried a moment and asked Harry in an undertone, "Is Angelina here yet?"

"No, but I expect her soon; she said they'd arrive early."

"Harry, are you OK with this happening on your wedding day?"

"Yes. We have to have that talk, and this is our chance."

Ron nodded, and hurried along to catch up with Hermione and her parents, who had paused at the foot of the stairway. Hermione turned to him and said, "Ron, why don't you and Dad go out to the garden, while Mum and I check in with Lavender."

Ron accompanied Hermione's father towards the rear of the house, while Hermione and her mother climbed the stairs. A few moments later, Harry heard sounds of greeting, and he smiled as he turned to welcome the next guests coming up the walk, Padma and her parents.

Just as Hermione and her mother had done, Padma and her mother went upstairs while Mr. Patil walked back towards the garden.

Luna and Neville arrived shortly later, with Luna's father, and the pattern was repeated. The next to arrive were Bruno and his parents. Parvati had been upstairs with Lavender since early in the morning, and Bruno was looking forward to seeing her eventually, but he knew that she was not likely to join the party very soon. He and his father went back towards the garden while his mother took the standard route upstairs.

Next, Angelina Johnson arrived with her husband, George Weasley, and their two children. As Angelina went upstairs to greet the bride, Harry asked George to stop for a minute. "Georgie, I need to ask a favor of you. Ron has something important to discuss with Angelina, related to work. Probably in the next hour. Could you help them find a way to talk alone?"

"Sure. And look, I don't know anything about it, but I've felt the vibes at home; it's pretty clear that something is wrong at work."

"I wish I could say you were wrong. And I can't tell you anything about it, but this seemed like the right time for them to have this talk, before anybody else from the Ministry arrives. If the circumstances are right, I might join them, but Ron and I are on the same page already, and it's basically something that Ron has to say to Angelina."

George nodded, and walked with the children toward the rear of the house, but he paused at the bottom of the stairway. Turning and looking back at Harry, with a mischievous smile, he pointed upward and said, "I really should have brought some extendable ears with me."

"George," said Harry, "there are certain things that mortal men were not meant to hear."

"Maybe so, maybe so," George replied, with a chuckle, as he turned and headed towards the garden.

Other friends continued to arrive, including the rest of the Weasley clan, and soon the traffic at the front door began to diminish. Harry had expected that people would arrive in two waves, with the second wave about an hour before the ceremony, and this seemed to be what was happening. With most of the early-arriving guests now present, he placed an answering charm on the door and went off to the garden himself. Standing on the patio, looking out at the grassy area beyond, he smiled as he saw small groups of his closest friends sitting at tables and standing in small groups. Children ran among the tables and small clusters of guests. Beyond the grassy area, Harry could see a few people wandering into the gardens. As he walked among the guests he was greeted with handshakes, hugs, kisses, and often with conspiratorial comments by the women who had seen Lavender. Padma simply said, "Harry, she's so happy!"

Harry's reply was simple: "She can't be as happy as I am."

There were now three generations of Weasleys scattered through the yard. Ron's parents had been like a mother and father to Harry for years, and he was virtually a member of the family, though his separation from Ginny had complicated things for a while. There had long been a general expectation that the two would marry one day, but the amicable nature of their breakup, and the friendly, easy-going nature of the boyfriend that Ginny later introduced to the family, had helped everyone to move on.

Like Ginny, Michael Corner had become a woodworker after completing school, though he was a furniture maker, while she built houses. They had dated for a while during their time at Hogwarts, then broken up after an argument about quidditch. Later, during the year that the Carrows had terrorized the students at Hogwarts, they had both participated in the resistance movement, and they had fought in the Battle of Hogwarts. After the defeat of Voldemort they had gone their separate ways, but sometime after Ginny and Harry broke up, she had run into Michael while purchasing lumber. They met for coffee, and soon afterward they were dating again. The family joke was that they had fallen for each other while discussing the grain qualities of their favorite types of wood. One of the positives for Michael was that he enjoyed discussing Muggle devices with Mr. Weasley, and that he even understood electrical devices such as drills and lathes. He also was well aware that he had to keep the enthusiastic Mr. Weasley far away from these dangerous machines.

Harry now saw Michael and Ginny talking with Bruno, and he walked over to talk with them. Ginny took this moment to tell Harry that Lavender was "ravishing," which evoked general laughter from the group. Bruno mentioned that he hadn't yet seen what Parvati would be wearing, and Ginny assured him that she was "stunning." Pointing alternately to Bruno and Harry, she said, "I have just two words for you two: 'blue' and 'blue.'"

As Harry walked away from the group, George caught his eye, and signaled with a slight nod that Ron and Angelina had walked entered the garden area. Harry nodded in reply, and walked briskly through the rose garden, into the formal garden that lay beyond. Looking to both sides, he saw Ron and Angelina standing together in the small arboretum section, and he walked towards them. Seeing him approaching, they headed farther into the trees, and found a secluded corner where they were unlikely to be interrupted.

Angelina had been in the Hogwarts class two years above Harry and Ron's, and she had been captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team in her seventh year. After graduating she had become an Auror, and had moved rapidly upward in the ranks. She was quick and skillful with her wand, and equally important, she was fair, honest, and smart. She had exhibited these qualities in quidditch, and they had foretold much about her future as an Auror. She had risen so quickly in the force that she'd been in danger of being promoted into a desk job in her mid-twenties, which was the last thing she wanted. Despite entreaties to become an administrator, she'd managed to find a niche as a field agent and part-time trainer of recruits. In that role, she fascinated trainees with stories of past Auror successes and failures, and with the confidence and integrity that she exuded. She always stressed that they were never to forget that their duty was to serve and protect. It was all about professionalism and discipline, not ego or action, and she famously ended her lectures with a standard line, "If you ever find yourself wondering why you're doing this job, it's time to look for a new career."

Angelina had been one of the instructors for Ron's class of recruits, and he had always told Harry, during that intense period of physical, mental, and emotional training, that she was tough and extremely demanding, but never abusive. She found ways to get the best out of each person in the class, just as she had with the quidditch team. Some of the recruits might be brilliant at analysis, but just didn't have what it took to be a field agent, and she would tell them, gently but firmly, that their talents would be of greatest value in intelligence work, or elsewhere in planning and administration. Others had to be let go entirely. All through his training period, Ron had lived in fear that she would pull him aside one day and give him "the talk" about serving where he could do the most good, rather than in the field, where he would have to rely on his wand and his wits, but it hadn't happened, and he'd succeeded in becoming a field agent.

Because of her unique position on the Auror force, the strength of her personality, and her absolute integrity, Angelina often found herself called to meetings with administrators. She knew it was good for the other agents that she was there, to speak in support of their interests, but it took a constant effort to avoid being chained to a desk when others were out risking their lives among the criminal elements.

As Harry now approached Ron and Angelina, Ron turned and spoke to him. "I've just started, Harry, and maybe I should continue." Harry nodded in agreement, and Ron continued: "Angelina, we know that you're in a sensitive position. I have just a couple of years in the service, and Harry's still in training. So we'll understand if you think that what we're about to tell you sounds ridiculous. If you don't want to hear it, just walk away, and we can all forget that we had this conversation."

"I'm listening, Ron."

"OK, here's the situation, pure and simple: We think there's a problem somewhere near the top of the Auror Department, someone who's in league with an organized criminal gang. Over in my area, people have been sent out to check on suspicious situations, and they've been ambushed, or everything has been cleaned out by the time they got there. Nobody has been killed or seriously injured, but it feels like it's only a matter of time. The only people who should have had advance knowledge of our actions are those who are actually involved, plus their immediate supervisors, plus a few people higher up who approve the work. Since the operations of several different Auror teams have had these problems, teams with different supervisors, we think it's someone higher up. Those are the people you interact with, and even if we're right, we don't want to jeopardize your situation by dragging you into this against your will. And maybe you think we're crazy."

"Keep going."

"OK. Now, Harry and I are trying to find patterns in all of this, and we've kept it to ourselves. The last thing we'd do is tell anyone that we've been talking to you about this, but if you think we're on to something, we could use your advice."

"Ron, Harry, we can complete this conversation at some other time, but for now I'll just say that I agree with you. I've been noticing this for the past several months. Ambushes, blown networks, and sometimes even petty criminals who seem to know exactly when to clear out, just before we arrive. And you're also right about it looking like a problem near the top. There are only a few Unit Directors, no more than that, who would hear about these operations in advance, and who could tip off the gangs to our actions. I personally think there's a reason that no Aurors have been killed. I think that the goal of this person is to create an atmosphere of fear among us, and for us to start to leave certain people and certain kinds of crime alone. If there were more violence, we would respond in force, and they don't want that. But if they can get us to be timid, to look the other way, they'll be free to pursue their schemes.

"And yes, I often find myself sitting in rooms with the higher-ups, and I feel in my gut that someone in the room is a rotten apple, but I can't tell who, so I can't talk about the situation with any of them. I've been watching and listening, and trying to piece it together on my own. And I'm sure that others are thinking the same thing, but they've got us all mistrusting each other. And that's a win for them too.

"If we're going to root this out, we need to work quietly. There are a lot of small pieces to the pattern, and we need to find out how they link up. Let me think this through, and we'll find a time to talk about it again. All three of us are Weasleys now, in our own ways," she said with a wry smile," so we can meet when we need to, at family gatherings. For now, just do your job, keep your eyes open, and don't draw attention to yourselves. If you see me at the Ministry, act like you barely know me; I could be walking with one of the bad guys, and we don't want them to suspect anything."

"Angelina, I'm your brother-in-law. I can't act like I don't know you!"

"OK, Ron, you can speak to me, but Harry can't. And you have to pretend that you don't like me very much. How's that?" she said, smiling again.

"Sure," said Ron, now starting to laugh. "I'll say hello when I see you, but I'll scowl, because last month, at a family dinner, you ate a slice of pie that I had my eyes on. Will that work?"

Now all of them were laughing, and Angelina spoke again, "OK, I think that's enough skullduggery for now. We have a wedding to attend, so let's find our way back to the crowd ... separately." She walked off quickly, leaving Harry and his Best Man standing under the trees. The two of them ambled back more slowly, after deciding that there was nothing suspicious in their being seen together.

Once back at the party, Harry saw that Hagrid and Professor McGonagall were present, as were several additional friends from Hogwarts and the Ministry, teachers from Lavender's school, and others. Harry and Lavender had invited the Dursleys, in the admittedly thin hope that something might be repaired between Harry and his closest living relatives, but they hadn't replied to the invitation, and they hadn't shown.

Looking through the crowd, Harry began to realize what it meant for those present at a wedding to be witnesses to the nuptials. He would be making some serious promises today, in front of the people he knew and loved best, and they would remember what he said. A familiar phrase came to mind: Marriage is not something to be entered into lightly.

Harry saw Hermione sitting at a table with her parents, and he walked over to talk. "Harry," said Hermione, "I have something to tell you. Well, two things, actually. Only Ron and my Mum and Dad know this. You know that I've taught at Hogwarts for a year now, and I love it, every second of it. I can work on spells and potions, talk about these things with others on the staff, and help the children develop their magical skills and knowledge. It's just perfect."

"Yes, Hermione," said Harry, with a smile, "and you can also visit the library any time you like!" And turning to her parents, he added, "I don't know how you did it, but this young lady has rocked our world. I've been in awe of her since the day we met. Which I think was the first time she corrected something I said." All four of them laughed. And turning back to Hermione, he asked, "So what's the news?"

"Professor McGonagall has asked me to be the Head of Gryffindor House! After the war there was so much turnover on the faculty that she decided to stay Head of Gryffindor, even as Headmistress. But now she says they should have a Head from the regular faculty, and she asked me to do it! It's ... surreal! I can still remember the first time I entered the castle, and now ..."

Harry couldn't help but hug his dear friend on hearing this news, and he answered, "You'll be perfect! And with you as Head of house, those kids better be serious about their studies! Look, if you get any slackers, like Ron and me, don't show any sympathy! Just assume that they're up to no good!"

The four of them laughed again, and then Harry asked, "Did you say there was another piece of news?"

Suddenly, all three of the Grangers were looking about self-consciously, and Harry looked quizzically from one of them to another. Finally, Hermione's mother spoke: "Hermione is going to have a sister."

In the next two seconds Harry tried to do the math; if Hermione was 23 now, and if her parents had been about this age when she was born, could this really be possible? Before he could speak, Hermione said, "Yes, Harry, it's a little out of the ordinary, but it can happen."

"So there's going to be another brilliant little Hermione Granger running around, astounding her friends and saving their lives every couple of days?"

"Oh Harry, don't be silly. Look at Ron and his brothers. They're all different people!"

"Yes, I know, but I can dream! And I really do think the world could use two Hermiones; maybe three or four. Well, congratulations to all of you on both of these pieces of news. I'm stunned!"

A while later, Harry was talking with Hermione alone, and he raised the subject again. "Hermione, is there any chance that your sister will be magical? I don't really know how that works, but if it happened once with your parents, could it happen again?"

"Well, I looked into it. I had always thought that a magical nature was determined at the moment of conception, but it seems to be something that develops during the first few months of pregnancy. And there's a potion that can increase the chance of it happening, if it's administered during that time. No guarantees, just an increase in the likelihood that the baby will be magical. I asked my parents if they'd like to give it a try, and they said they would, so I made the potion, and my Mum drank it a few weeks ago; now we just have to wait and see."

At this point, with Harry still marveling at Hermione's news, Luna approached. "Hi Harry. Hi Hermione. Well, Harry, it's about time to tie the knot with Lavender. Are you ready?"

"Absolutely!"

What a stroke of genius it had been to ask Luna to conduct the wedding ceremony. Lavender's genius, that is. More than anyone else they knew, Luna embodied the personal qualities they so admired: sincerity, openness, and trust. Also, like Harry and Lavender, Luna and Neville had experienced real personal tragedy, and although they remembered and honored those they had lost, they had found a way to move forward and find happiness. So Luna was a personal inspiration to Harry and Lavender, as well as a friend. And if she happened to mention Nargles at some point during the ceremony, was that really such a bad thing?

At Luna's signal the music began, and the guests gathered in the rose garden. Parvati emerged from the house in a gown of deep blue, and she, Bruno, Ron, and Hermione proceeded to the front, and lifted the four poles that supported the wedding canopy. Harry stood in front of it, and a moment later Lavender walked out of the house, wearing a pale blue gown that shimmered in the sunlight. Harry's eyes grew moist as she approached. They stepped under the canopy, and Luna began to speak:

"Hello, all of you sweet and lovely people! Can you believe this is actually happening? We're about to witness something very beautiful. And maybe some of you are even thinking about doing the same thing one of these days!" As she spoke these words, Luna turned slightly towards the four friends who held the canopy aloft. Each of the four looked away nervously, while four pairs of parents in the crowd exchanged knowing smiles.

Turning back to the gathering, Luna continued, "Now, I've always thought that a great marriage is like toast and jam..."

Harry scanned the gathering as Luna spoke. There in the back was Hagrid, who had broken into tears at the first mention of toast and jam, and who continued to sob into his enormous handkerchief as Luna vividly described blobs of jam seeping into the holes of a perfectly toasted slice of crusty bread, and the ultimate inseparability of the two, once they'd become joined. Sure, thought Harry, that sounds exactly like a marriage! Why not? He loved it.

He also noticed Susan Bones, an old friend of Lavender's. Susan's parents had been close friends with Lavender's, and like them, they had been targeted during the wars against Voldemort. Like Harry and Lavender, Susan was a survivor. And there was Luna's father, smiling through his tears as he listened to his beloved daughter, whom he'd raised alone since the time her mother had died, when Luna was just nine.

Luna continued to speak, with nary a mention of Nargles, and eventually she moved on to the symbolism of rings, as circles with no end, like a perfect marriage. At her prompting, Harry and Lavender recited their personal statements, both of which recalled their parents, whom so few in the crowd had actually known. Then they made their vows, exchanged rings, and kissed. They laughed, they cried, they signed the parchment, along with the five witnesses, and then Luna declared them married, and the party commenced.

During the afternoon and into the evening, Harry and Lavender wandered among their guests, and talked with everyone present. At one point they walked up to Professor McGonagall, who was sitting at a table with Bruno's parents, and as the newlyweds approached, she stood, held out a hand to each of them, and looked deeply into their eyes. Then she spoke: "Harry and Lavender, my dear children, I'm probably the only person here who knew all four of your parents. They were lovely people, and they would be so happy to see you today. Live your lives as they did, and the world will be a better place."

They thanked her for her kind words, and spoke with her and Bruno's parents for a while. Harry told Professor McGonagall how excited they were to hear that Hermione soon would be the Head of Gryffindor, and she replied that it had been one of the easiest decisions she'd ever made. As they walked off to speak with others, Lavender said, "Harry, did you hear that? She addressed us by our first names!"

They ate, they danced, and they laughed and hugged and kissed until late into the night. The next morning they were off to Scotland by portkey, to hike the highlands. For a week they camped, washed in cold streams, napped on granite ledges, and watched the stars at night, while sipping their favorite single malt firewhisky. And each morning they awakened to the sounds of birds singing in the heather.

A few days after their return to London, Bruno and Parvati stopped by for a late breakfast in the garden. They talked and laughed over quiche and muffins and strong black coffee. After a pause in the conversation, Parvati looked up and said, "There is one thing that I've been wondering about. When you were out there, tramping through the foggy, foggy dew, amongst the braes and the lochans, were you able to get all the toast and jam you needed?" The four of them laughed heartily. But even as he laughed, Harry was thinking about returning to work in a few days, and wondering how he would deal with the troubles at the Ministry.

0-0-0

 _ _And that brings this tale to a close, with a few threads left hanging. Another of my stories, The Mole, picks up where this one ends.__

 _ _And with your indulgence, dear reader, I'll say a bit more about another hanging thread: Six months after the events described here, Marjorie Granger gave birth a second time to a magical baby girl, and she and David named her Penelope. Penelope Granger grew up smart and strong and confident, but also rebellious. She followed some wayward paths in her early years, and was often a trial to her parents and older sister, but ultimately she proved to be a true Gryffindor, an honor to her family and her school. After all, these traits often do run in families.  
__

 _ _Thank you for reading. rj__


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